On Thursday, March 24, Nepal will face Thailand in the first friendly match of the Thailand tour. At 5:45 p.m. NST, the teams will take the field at Chonburi Stadium in Thailand's Chon Buri province.

The friendlies in Thailand are part of the FIFA International Break and will serve as a warm-up for the third round of AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, which will take place in June. Nepal is in Group A, along with Jordan, Kuwait, and Indonesia, and Thailand is in Group C, along with Uzbekistan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka.

The teams will be hoping to go into the qualifiers with positive momentum.

Rankings:

Nepal is currently ranked 167th in the latest FIFA rankings while the opponents Thailand are ranked 112th. So, facing a strong side, Nepal have a tough test ahead of them.

Team news: 

Nepal has flown to Thailand without players from Machhindra Football Club, who are scheduled to compete in an AFC Cup qualifier on April 5. In addition, Nepal is without forward Jagjeet Shrestha, who was left out of the squad due to VISA issues. The rest of the squad, which consists of 24 players, has traveled and will compete for a place in the team.

Supachai Chaided was originally named among the 27 players selected for Thailand's international friendlies against Nepal and Suriname, but he was forced to withdraw due to injury. The rest of the team will compete for a starting spot. Alexandré Pölking, the head coach of Thailand's national team, has chosen to use only players who are currently competing in Thailand's domestic league. So, a few new names will be making their debut for the team.

Predicted XI:

Thailand: Siwarak Tedsungnoen (GK), Theerathon Bunmathan, Tristan Do, Narubadin Weerawatnodom, Pansa Hemviboon, Tanaboon Kesarat, Thitiphan Puangchan, Ekanit Panya, Worachit Kanitsribampen, Adisak Kraisorn, Suphanat Mueanta.

Nepal: Kiran Chemjong (GK), Dinesh Rajbanshi, Rohit Chand, Ananta Tamang, Suman Aryal, Pujan Uperkoti, Tej Tamang, Santosh Tamang, Suman Lama, Aashish Lama, Anjan Bista.

Recent results:

Nepal's latest outings were against Mauritius in Kathmandu back on January 31 and February 1. Nepal won both the friendlies 1-0.

Nepal’s form: W-W-L-D-L

In January, the home side drew 2-2 with Indonesia in the second leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup final. They won the tie 6-2 on aggregate as a result of the draw. Thailand are currently on a run of eight matches without a loss.

Thailand’s form: D-W-D-W-W

Head-to-head:

Nepal and Thailand have previously met three times in international matches where Nepal have tasted defeat in all three matches. The latest encounter between the sides dates back to a friendly encounter in 2008 where Thailand were victorious 7-0.