Nepal in World Cup, Asia Cup qualifiers: Positive performance despite negative results signals hope

When Rohit Chand received a red card for dragging back Martin Boyle on the cusp of halftime, it was clear that Nepal were in for a long night. They were getting mauled by Australia with 11 men on the field during the last match of this round of the World Cup and Asia Cup Qualifiers in Kuwait last Friday as they trailed 2-0 going into the half thanks to goals from Mathew Leckie and Fran Karacic. But, with their best players and talisman seeing red, things just got a lot harder.

Even though they started the second half better than they had done the first, they soon conceded a goal from Boyle after failing to deal with a simple cross into the box as Australia piled on the pressure. From that point on, things did not look better as Nepal continued to face the music as Australia piled on the pressure as they hit 36 shots in the allotted 90 minutes.