Nepal’s senior men’s team is facing Hong Kong in an international friendly on June 5, the All Nepal Football Association revealed on Wednesday. The Hong Kong Football Association will host the match.

With both teams on paths of transformation, the friendly is expected to be a good preparation for their important fixtures in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Third Round. Nepal and Hong Kong, who are in Groups F and C in the qualifiers, are facing Laos and India, respectively, on June 10.

Hong Kong hold a clear edge in the FIFA Rankings, sitting at 153rd position—22 places above Nepal, who currently stand at 175th. Yet, the results from their respective fixtures against a common opponent, Singapore, in March suggest that Nepal are not to be taken lightly.

Before facing Malaysia in the Asian Cup qualifiers on March 25, Nepal visited Singapore for a friendly on March 21. Nepal then defeated Singapore by 1-0 in what was the first game for new head coach Matt Ross.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Singapore played a goalless draw in their group game of the Asian Cup qualifiers on March 25.

This, however, does not suggest that Nepal will have an easy time against Hong Kong, a team that has been revamping its squad with naturalised players, those who have obtained the citizenship of a country different from the one in which they were born.

On the other hand, established Nepali players are leaving the country, leading to the introduction of new faces in the squad every now and then.

Imported talent

Hong Kong have shown an intense concern in importing talents from other countries. Hong Kong Premier League, where six foreign players can start for a team, has also provided the state access to more and more emerging players.

Some naturalised players in the Hong Kong squad against Singapore last month were Leon Jones, Raphael Merkies and Nicholas Benavides.

There are more new faces undergoing the process to enter the Hong Kong national team. Callum Beattie, who holds British citizenship, and Jay Haddow, who holds English and Japanese citizenships, are currently in the process of receiving the Hong Kong passport.

The rise in the trend of bringing in players of foreign origin to the national team has also sparked an increase in research over the naturalisation process and its impact.

Former player and an experienced UEFA pro-license holder Ashley Westwood is leading Hong Kong recently. He was in the FA Youth Cup-winning squad of Manchester United in 1995 and then played across the highest divisions of English football for different clubs. Westwood also coached Bengaluru in the I League and won two titles in the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons.

But Nepal, boasting their own UEFA pro-license holder coach, will not be making the game simple for Hong Kong when they meet after over a month of practice.

According to ANFA, the football governing body of Nepal, they have been increasing coordination with Asian and other countries for friendlies and other tournaments.

“More international exposure means the players will have more chances to improve,” said Suresh Shah, ANFA spokesperson. “The friendly with Hong Kong will help our squad, under the new coach, to prepare for the Asian qualifiers.”

Shah also informed that Nepal’s squad for the friendly as well as the qualifiers will be revealed in the upcoming days. When asked about Nepal’s plan for bringing back players who have left the country for better footballing opportunities abroad, Shah replied, “ANFA always looks forward to doing things in the nation’s interest.”

Hong Kong will be on a high while meeting Nepal, as they would have played against the Manchester United squad less than a week ago.

The ‘Red Devils’ are visiting Hong Kong for the ‘Defining Education Challenge Cup’ on May 30.

United will take on ASEAN All Stars in the 84,000-capacity Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on May 28, before travelling to play Hong Kong, China in the Hong Kong Stadium, which can hold up to 40,000 fans, on May 30, Manchester United stated on April 8.