Nepal is facing host Uzbekistan on Saturday in the AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers. It will be a match, the winner of which will book Australia's ticket to next year's Asia Cup.

Practically speaking, the football development and expansion of these two countries is very different. Recently, Uzbekistan has become at least one of the powers of Asian football. 

That is why Uzbekistan not only made its debut at the Paris Olympics last year, the team has also qualified for the World Cup in 2026. One only has to come to Uzbekistan, the development of football here can be easily felt and seen directly. Desired facilities, youth academy, business support. What is missing in Uzbekistan football now? 

It has also helped raise the level of women's football in Uzbekistan. Women's football has also advanced itself by getting all kinds of facilities. Guy Kala, who is the technical director of the Uzbekistan Football Association, says, "You cannot expect results without investment in football." He is from Belgium. Being a UEFA instructor, he also has a UEFA Pro license. 

He took charge in February last year and since then Uzbekistani football has seen unprecedented success. He says, “Football is played anywhere. In this case, qualifying for the World Cup is not easy. You have to be better than others. As far as Uzbekistan is concerned, the recent success has been possible due to continuous hard work and huge investment in material and human resources. This work had already started before I came to Uzbekistan.' As everyone knows, the then Soviet Union was a football powerhouse in its own right. Women's football started there in the 90s. Despite cultural and gender differences, women's football in Uzbekistan has made progress. 

In 1999, Nepal and Uzbekistan faced each other for the first time. The occasion was the 12th edition of the AFC Women's Championship. At that time, this tournament was held in the Philippines. Its former name was, AFC Women's Asian Cup. In that match on November 16, Nepal was defeated 6-1. But Pema Dolma Lama managed to score the first historic goal for the country. 

After more than a decade and a half, the Nepali team is now in Uzbekistan. Here is an opportunity to be impressed by the progress made by women's football. Savitra Bhandari, the new captain of the Nepali team and top scorer, says, 'Anyone can reach the top level of football only when there is sufficient investment in physical infrastructure and human resources.' What she believes is that women's football is still struggling at the international level. She says, "Even in Europe, only big clubs will get enough audience in women's football." Having said that, there is no problem of supporters when women's football plays international football in Nepal. 

'Samba' is very happy with this. Rekha Paudel, who recently returned from winning the UAE Women's Football League title for Abu Dhabi Country Club, is also happy that some Asian countries are investing in the sector. She says, "There are not many female football supporters in the UAE. Nepal is lucky in this matter, but there is no investment in Nepali women's football and there is a lack of long-term planning.' Even more surprising. He himself has watched the match of Nepal at Milli Stadium. He says, "The performance of some Nepalese players is very good. If possible, I would like to keep some players in the Uzbekistan team.'

Kala adds, 'Nepal should be able to keep these players in football and provide as many facilities as possible. It is better for Nepal to appoint a coach like Patrick de Wilde as the head coach. He has extensive experience in the field of football. They have clear guidelines.' 

Meanwhile, the same coach De Wilde wants to tell Nepali women's football fans that they should be positive about Nepal's chances of playing in the Asia Cup. He also says, 'Nepal's football association must increase investment in women's football. A long-term plan is also needed. Indeed, the potential of the Nepali women's football team is wide. Savitra, who can easily be called the best player in South Asia, also believes that it is a pleasure to enter Day Wild Nepali women's football, and it is more than positive. 

Savitra also has this opinion, "Nothing is enough, the coach alone cannot do anything." Trainers also need adequate resources and resources. Only if this happens, more players will be seen in Nepali women's football. What is very happy is that there is no stopping Nepali women players from moving forward despite the lack of resources and insufficient resources. 

That same Savitra says, 'We will play for our country with 100 percent. Everyone knows how important the decisive match against Uzbekistan is. We will try to play well against Uzbekistan. The Nepali team is under pressure on the one hand, and motivated on the other hand. We have an example of Bangladesh defeating Myanmar. We also want to kiss the same achievement as theirs.