Thimphu [Bhutan], March 5 (ANI): Bhutan’s senior men’s national football team will resume playing this month after a break of more than three years. The team was invited to the Prime Minister’s Three Nations Cup in Nepal in 2023. Bhutan and Laos will square off in the tournament’s opening game on March 22, reported The Bhutan Live.
The senior men’s national squad has reportedly been denied opportunities to participate in international competition or friendly matches for the previous few years because of the pandemic, according to the Bhutan Football Federation.
A report in The Bhutan Live read that the national team, however, is preparing for the Three Nations Cup, where Bhutan will play Laos and the tournament’s host nation Nepal twice. Nepal emerged victorious in the competition between Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan in 2021.
In the FIFA World Rankings, Bhutan is now ranked 185th, while Nepal and Laos are ranked 175th and 187th, respectively.
The senior national squad only participates in the World Cup Qualifiers, AFC Cup Qualifiers, SAFF Championship, and international friendlies, according to an official of the football organisation.
Bhutan’s senior men’s team’s last competitive international match, which was in the World Cup pre-qualifiers versus Guam in 2019, ended in a 5-1 overall loss for Bhutan.
Bhutan will participate in the SAFF Championship, which will be held in India in June, in addition to the Three Nations Cup this year.
According to the BFF, Bhutan will participate in two international friendlies this year. The opponents and dates, however, have not yet been chosen.
By the end of this year, the senior men’s national team’s playing time will have increased by 30 per cent thanks to the friendlies, which are part of the BFF’s strategic plan, reported The Bhutan Live. (ANI)
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