Nepal national team midfielder Bishal Rai says that the team is eyeing a place at the AFC Asian Cup 2023 at the final round of qualifiers later in June.

On an interview video released by ANFA, Bishal said, "Training has begun and is progressing nicely. The coach is primarily concerned with fitness."

"This time, we have Jordan, Kuwait and Indonesia in our group. Kuwait and Jordan were our opponents in the second round. Jordan and Kuwait are good teams and well ahead of us in the rankings but we intend to play well. We are doing everything we can to be selected for the Asian Cup", he added.

Bishal also added that Nepal had a hard time playing in Kuwait last time and the training camp in Qatar ahead of the qualifiers will help the team acclimatize to the conditions in the Middle-east. "It's really hot in Kuwait and our training camp in Qatar will be fruitful", Bishal said. "The friendlies against Afghanistan will also foster our preparations ahead of the qualifiers."

Nepal has been placed in Group A of the qualifiers alongside Jordan, Kuwait, and Indonesia. Nepal's first match is against Jordan on June 8, followed by a match against Kuwait on June 11. On June 14, Nepal will face Indonesia in the final group match. Kuwait will host all of the matches in Group A.

Nepal is also scheduled to play two friendlies against Afghanistan on May 25 and 29 in Qatar in preparations for the qualifiers.