Nepal national team forward Manish Dangi says that the friendlies against Afghanistan will be vital in Nepal's quest for the AFC Asian Cup berth.

In an interview video released by ANFA, Manish said, "The camp has started and we are focusing on our fitness levels at the moment." He added, "We are playing after a gap after the end of the A Division League and because our group has got strong teams, the coach has focused on our fitness. We played a match inside the camp today to check our fitness levels."

Manish also stated that the camp in Qatar and the friendlies against Afghanistan will help Nepal acclimatize to the conditions and the quality of the opponents in the group. "We will go to Qatar after some time here are we'll play two friendlies there which will help us adjust to the conditions of Kuwait and Afghanistan being a strong team will help us with our opponents in the group as well", Manish said.

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.