hope never dies

Finally the dream of Nepal entering into the third round of world cup qualifiers shattered as it crashed out with Jordan 10-1. The 148^th country in terms of FIFA ranking created a history by entering the second round of the WC qualifiers for the first time. The big margin victory over East Timor was something to be celebrated by Nepali football fans. But when the Asian giant Jordan made it 9-0 on the first leg of the second round, various questions were raised over the standard of Nepali football. The football governing body ANFA was widely criticized for doing nothing significant for the progress of Nepali football. The fans were disappointed and once again lost the hope of seeing their country in the greatest contest of the greatest sports ever.

The second leg of the Nepal versus Jordan match was scheduled in Nepal. The British coach of Nepal had said that Nepal would play for its prestige and would try to stop Jordan from scoring more goals. Nepali national team although having low morale by the previous defeat had some hope from the home crowed and home ground. The fans knew it well that Jordan was far ahead from Nepal not only in terms of FIFA ranking but also team management and fitness. But hope is something you can relay upon no matter how slim the chances are. Football fans of Nepal had that hope from the national team. They wanted the national team to do anything that would help to stop the erosion of standard of Nepali football and create a place where we could hope for more. Thursday’s match was much awaited by many football lovers across the nation as they hoped for the best possible result.

As I sat before the TV set to watch the match, I didn’t except a fancy win by Nepal. I wanted to see the fighting spirit of the players that would keep our hopes for football alive. The opponent was a mighty team with high level of confidence but giving them a tough fight back would prove that it is never too late to gear up to put a great show in the days to come. The match started and the crowed started cheering for Nepal. The hooting of the spectators echoed all over the stadium. Surely the “Nepal, Nepal” by the nearly 18,000 home supporters inspired the players to give a very good show. They played very well and created many more chances of goal. After the slight rainfall turned to be a heavy downpour, the game turned something into a muddy match. This was yet another advantage for the Nepalese side as our national team is well acquainted with this kind of ground in various other matches. But it was not the sole reason for Nepal being able to stop Jordan from hammering more goals. The Nepali side played with a high morale and moreover, they had to fight hard to keep the hope of thousands of supporters alive. And when the match ended in a 1-1 draw with a beautiful goal from Nepal, I felt that the national team has a lot to be hoped for. They are capable of delivering us joy even though they get a minimum state facility. Thursday’s match can be a lesson to the football officials of Nepal who have been leading us from the very early days. They should now have a faith in their players. They should know that if trained well, Nepalese national football team is capable of turning the match upside down however mighty the opponent be. If common football lovers can have a hope for the national team why not the officials who have very good international contacts? Please do not let this hope die.