Myanmar took full advantage of the Four Nations Cup, with coach Tetsuro Uki rotating the players so that all players got to play, while Nepal had to do the same.
First of all, the story of a decade and a half ago. In the selection of the AFC U-16 Men's Football Championship held in Kathmandu in 2011, Nepal held Saudi Arabia to a 1-1 draw. After that match, Saudi Arabia along with Nepal were eliminated from Group D from the qualifying stage.
Oman and Syria reached the final stage. It was a somewhat shocking result for Saudi Arabian football. However, Saudi coach Omar Abdullah Bakhsawin did not look as disappointed as it should have been.
Bakhsawin, a very experienced coach of Saudi football, presented his argument to the Nepali media, "Age group football is for the development of this game, it is not necessary to focus only on winning." According to the same coach, friendly football is also necessary for the development of this game. There are other competitions to win.
Why all this discussion, in the recently concluded Four Nations Cup International Women's Championship, it was seen that Nepal's main objective is to win the title. Little thought was given to the development of the game by sticking to the competition. As everyone knows, this is not an official competition. It was an extended form of friendly international football. It would be great to win. However, even if we lose, nothing is lost. If the problem remains, it was seen that the title must be won.
result Nepal was defeated by Myanmar 2-0 in the final under a lot of pressure. This was the 13th final played by Nepal. Nepal reaches the finals of almost all the tournaments it plays, but cannot win. These include the SAFF Championship and women's football competitions under the South Asian Games. Renuka Nagarkote, who was declared the best player of the tournament, looked very disappointed while appearing before the media. His voice was subdued when he spoke.
Nepali women's national team coach Rajendra Tamang gave the same reaction after winning the match against Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon in the league stage. That was, 'Nepali women's football needs a win.' After losing to Bangladesh in the final of the SAFF Championship 2024, he presented such claims and arguments. Now he seems to have backed away from that. He himself is somewhat confused.
that day he emphasized the most on the new generation of players. He also criticized some old players and resigned emotionally. However, again now he did not miss the opportunity to handle the national team of the Four Nations Cup. While doing so, he did not miss the chance to transform the generation in the team during the Four Nations Cup. Emphasized only on victory. This is the third time he has managed the Nepali team.
Nepal has played three finals since he arrived. Among them, SAFF and WAF are both formal competitions. There may not be much room for questioning his selection as a coach. If his words are to be taken, he will probably be the coach of the next FIFA window. The problem is that during the Four Nations Cup, he didn't pay much attention to winning, he missed the many opportunities that could be used in the team and the opportunities that could be given to new players.
Although he criticized some players during the SAFF Championship, he chose almost the same team for the tournament now. Nepal did not even 'rotate' the players after playing four matches. New players Manmaya Damai and Sushma Tamang were not given a chance to debut. Not only Anita KC but also Usha Nath and Saraswati Hamal were restricted to the bench. Used only 9 substitutes in four games. While the benefits could be equal to 20 times.
In the league stage match against Myanmar, only one player was substituted. Even before that game, Nepal had reached the final. Victory or defeat may not have mattered much. But there was no risk taking in that game, being too serious. Even after doing this, the final was not won? Also, Savitra Kisan, who is the best goalkeeper in the ANFA Women's League, was not included in the list of 23 players. Giving more opportunities to new and emerging players in the third choice goalkeeper is not considered good. Myanmar, who won the
title, took full advantage of the Four Nations Cup. Japanese coach Tetsuro Uki 'rotated' the players in 4 games in such a way that all the players of the team were able to play. In the end, this Four Nations Cup turned out to be a tournament that was played to make things easier for Myanmar. While Nepal had to do the same. Maybe if they had not pressured themselves to win the title before the final, if they had played comfortably, would Nepal have become the champion? The
itself also includes captain Angela Tumbapo Subba who creates immense pressure. Before the final, she was saying, "This time, the title will be kept at home." After losing the final, she was the one who threw her "globes" on the ground in anger.
The next day, Angela wrote on the social network, "I want to apologize to all the supporters. Don't criticize the players. There is no need to criticize the players, Nepali women players are playing with the facilities and opportunities, that is great.
