Although unacceptable and unexpected, the 0-7 loss with Kuwait in the 2022 FIFA world cup qualifiers (2nd round) was not surprising.

Here are the three takeaways from the match.

Experience & fitness:

There was clear evidence that players lacked match experience and fitness. There was a clear lack of hunger among players to win the ball. The sacking of athletic trainer before the tournament was the evidence of how the team may have been prepared physically for the big stage.

Coach Kalin seem clueless :

Coach Kalin said after the match that he needs to realize what went wrong. Indeed he is right. He did not know what went wrong and he did not have plan “B” in hand if the plan “A” went wrong.

1. Most of the Kuwaiti attack was from the left side of the defense. But coach did not correct that until the final whistle. The Kuwait attacks kept coming from the right flank until the end.

2. After your team is two goal down and your main striker barely touches the ball for 25 minutes; there should been strategy change right away. But it didn't happen.

3. Nepal played goal less draw and 0-1 loss with Kuwait in the friendly match series in March 2019. But coach got it completely wrong in the opposition analysis.

World Cup qualification campaign looks horrifying:

0-7 defeat with Kuwait and still have to play 7 more matches with stronger and better opponents, Nepal’s 2022 FIFA world cup qualification campaign looks horrifying.

I can assume that the state of football in Nepal is declining. Nepal used to be powerhouse in South Asia but now it
struggles against Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

So All Nepal Football Association needs to take the football development to grassroots and go for quantity to get the quality.

By: Dinesh Thapa
Twitter @TheDineshThapa