In the first of two friendly matches, Nepal defeated Mauritius 1-0 thanks to a solitary goal by Bimal Gharti Magar yesterday. The two sides will face off against one other again just two days later, on Tuesday. Despite Nepal coach Abdullah Almutairi's dissatisfaction with the team's overall performance, there were enough positives to draw away from the win over the African team.

First home win of the Almutairi era

The victory over Mauritius was Nepal's first at home under Abdullah Almutairi. The passionate Kuwaiti, who never misses an opportunity to display his love for his country, must be ecstatic to get his first win in front of a raucous crowd at the Dasharath Stadium.

Bimal’s back and back with a bang

In more than two years, Bimal Gharti Magar wore the national colors against Mauritius. The Machhindra forward last played for Nepal in a friendly loss vs Myanmar. He's been embroiled in controversy for his disciplinary difficulties, and he was unlucky enough to miss a significant amount of time due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. But, with Nawayug Shrestha on the sidelines for a bit, he had his chance and seized it with both hands as he scored the game-winning goal in the 55th minute of the encounter off an Anjan Bista pass.

Three comebacks in the national side

In addition to Bimal, attacker Jagjeet Shrestha and centreback Devendra Tamang returned to the national team after lengthy absences. Devendra made his first appearance for the national team in late 2019 when he played against Bhutan. He was also sidelined due to an injury. Meanwhile, Jagjeet wore the national colors for the first time in almost seven years. He last played for Nepal in the SAFF Championship in 2015, when his final match was against India.

Debuts for Satdobato duo

Two Satdobato midfielders made their national debuts against Mauritius, thanks to Abdullah Almutairi. Sudip Gurung and Aakash Buda Magar, who played for Satdobato Youth Club in the A Division for the first time, were the ninth and tenth players to make their international debuts under Almutairi. Sudip Gurung has played every minute of the league's nine games so far.

An incredible home crowd as always

Due to the COVID pandemic and a large number of positive cases in the capital, ANFA decided to limit the crowd of the Dasharath Stadium for the matches against Mauritius to one-third of its capacity. Despite the fact that the stadium was not completely full, Nepali fans ensured that the atmosphere was electrifying and that they applauded the team as loudly as they could. And they returned home delighted following the team's victory.

 The second match against Mauritius will be played on Tuesday at 4:45 PM at the Dasharath Stadium.