In his first press meet, Patrick de Wilde, the head coach of the Nepali national women's team, said, 'I don't know anything about my players.' But two weeks later, he seems extremely confident and happy with his players.

The Nepali women's football team is leaving for Uzbekistan on Tuesday. Nepal will play women's Asian Cup qualifiers there. In the history of Nepali women's football, there will probably be no other tournament as important as this one. Nepal will play group 'F' of selection. There will be opponents from Nepal, Laos, Sri Lanka and host country Uzbekistan. Winning that group would mean direct entry to the Asian Cup next year in Australia. 

I have spent more than two decades as a coach. I was very impressed with the form of women's football I saw here. It was a very happy experience for me," said coach de Wilde. Then what is his opinion about the Nepali team? He says, "We should be positive about Nepal's chances in the selection."

He adds, "Nepal will face Uzbekistan in its last match. Before that, our focus should be on the games against Laos and Sri Lanka. We never stop dreaming. But the dream does not come true, for this one has to work hard. For the Nepali team, the main player in the tournament is once again none other than Savitra Bhandari.

What does Savitra say? He says, "Of course, our main rival is Uzbekistan." Recently, Sri Lanka has also started playing well and has also done things to make us sad. So every game will be equally important for us. In my opinion, every team participating in the selection is strong in their respective positions.'

Savitra adds, 'It would have been better if we had got the current foreign coach earlier. At first there was a language problem between us, but now that's gone. Coach is encouraging us all to stay motivated. This can definitely be expected to improve our performance. We have experienced positive improvements during the training so far.' 

She also wants to reveal a fact that may surprise many others. She says, "Current training is very strict and the selection of the team will be based on this." I think, I myself may not be the first choice player. This means, now there is a fierce competition to be the first choice player of the Nepali team and this is a good sign for Nepali women's football. 

Nepal will play Laos in the first match on June 29. By this coincidence, Nepali women's football will be a historic and milestone match on the international stage. Nepali players are enthusiastic to perform well for this one achievement. Angela Subba, the captain of the Nepali team, says, "It is a historic opportunity for us to play hundreds of games." 

Youth and Sports Ministry Secretary Hari Prasad Lamsal, All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) President Pankaj Vikram Nemwang and others bid farewell to the team wishing them great success. Secretary Lamsal reminded that the women athletes are performing well despite the limited resources and means, and wished them to hoist the nation's flag by performing even higher this year.