Nepal National Football Team: FIFA Ranking, Captain & Records

The Nepal national football team represents Nepal in men's international football and is nicknamed "The Gorkhalis", after the Gorkha soldiers renowned for their bravery. The team is governed by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), the national governing body for football in Nepal, which was established in 1951 (2008 BS). ANFA organises the national leagues, the age-group teams and the senior men's and women's sides, and represents Nepal at continental and world level.

Nepal is a full member of world football's global body, FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association), having joined in 1970, and of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which it joined in 1972. Within Asia, Nepal competes in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) sub-region alongside India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives. This membership determines which qualifiers and championships the Gorkhalis contest, from the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers to the biennial SAFF Championship.

Football is one of Nepal's most popular spectator sports, and the national team enjoys passionate support, particularly during SAFF and World Cup qualifying windows when the demand for tickets at home fixtures peaks. Despite modest infrastructure and a mid-table-of-Asia standing, the side has produced memorable results and a run to a first major final in 2021.

As of the FIFA World Ranking update of 11 June 2026, Nepal were ranked around 177th in the world. The exact position moves every ranking window (FIFA publishes updates roughly monthly to bi-monthly), so any single figure is a snapshot rather than a fixed value; the next scheduled official update after June 2026 was 20 July 2026. Nepal's ranking has historically fluctuated in the roughly 160th-190th band, dipping and rising with results in qualifiers, the SAFF Championship and friendlies.

The FIFA World Ranking uses the "SUM" points system, in which a team gains or loses points after every recognised international match based on the result, the importance of the match and the strength of the opponent. Because competitive fixtures against higher-ranked teams carry more weight, Nepal can climb quickly with a strong qualifying campaign and slide after a poor window. Friendlies against lower-ranked opposition move the needle far less.

To find the live, current position, readers should check FIFA's official member-association page for Nepal (association code NEP) rather than relying on a cached number, as this article states a durable snapshot rather than a real-time figure.

Nepal's head coach as of 2026 is Guglielmo Arena, an Italian (Swiss-born) coach appointed by ANFA on 13 March 2026. Arena, who holds a UEFA Pro Licence, has coached across Africa, Asia and Europe over more than two decades, with previous roles including the Laos senior and U-23 teams and clubs in Oman, the UAE and Morocco. He succeeded the Australian Matt Ross, who had resigned in October 2025.

The team captain is Kiran Chemjong, a veteran goalkeeper who is also Nepal's most-capped player of all time. Chemjong has long been the leader of the side and a symbol of the team's continuity through several coaching changes. The armband and the goalkeeping position have made him one of the most recognisable Nepali footballers of his generation.

The squad blends domestic Nepal Super League and A-Division players with a growing number of players based abroad. Forwards such as Anjan Bista and Nawayug Shrestha have anchored the attack in recent years, while ANFA has invested in youth development to build the pipeline for future qualifying cycles.

The team's home ground is Dasharath Rangasala (Dasharath Stadium), located in Tripureshwor, Kathmandu. It is Nepal's national stadium and the primary venue for international matches, SAFF fixtures and major domestic finals. The all-seater bowl has a capacity in the region of 15,000 spectators.

The stadium is named after Dasharath Chand, one of the four martyrs (Char Shahid) of Nepal's democratic movement. It has been renovated over the years, including after damage sustained in the 2015 (2072 BS) Gorkha earthquake, and remains the emotional home of Nepali football, where the crowd noise for a Nepal-India or Nepal-Bangladesh fixture is among the loudest in South Asian football.

Because it is the country's main international venue, home World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers, as well as SAFF Championship matches when Nepal hosts, are typically staged at Dasharath Rangasala.

The SAFF Championship, the flagship tournament for South Asian nations, is where Nepal has come closest to major silverware. The Gorkhalis reached their first-ever final at the 2021 edition (played in the Maldives), losing 0-3 to regional giants India in the final. That runners-up finish remains Nepal's best result in the competition's history.

Nepal has been a regular participant since the tournament's inaugural edition in 1993 and has frequently reached the semi-final or third-place stage without previously breaking through to the final. The 2021 run therefore marked a genuine milestone, reflecting a stronger, more organised generation of players.

Nepal has never won the SAFF Championship; India is by far the most successful nation in the event. Reaching a first final was, nonetheless, a breakthrough that raised expectations for future editions and remains a reference point for the current squad.

Nepal's all-time most-capped player is captain and goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong, with well over 100 international appearances for the Gorkhalis. His longevity has made him the benchmark for national-team service.

The record for most international goals is shared at the top of the list. Ganesh Thapa, one of Nepal's most celebrated footballers and later an administrator, is credited with 14 goals, while several players including Hari Khadka, Nirajan Rayamajhi and the modern-era forward Anjan Bista sit on 13 goals. Bista, still active, has been chasing the outright record, and forward Nawayug Shrestha is another of the country's leading modern marksmen.

Nepal's record victory is a 7-0 win over Bhutan, recorded on 26 September 1999 in Kathmandu. At the other end of the scale, the team's heaviest defeat was a 16-0 loss to South Korea on 29 September 2003 in Incheon, a reminder of the gulf that once existed between South Asian sides and Asia's elite. Exact career totals for active players change as they add appearances and goals, so the figures above are best read as of the mid-2020s.

The most authoritative source for squad announcements, fixtures and results is ANFA's official website and social media channels, which publish match dates, kick-off times and callups. FIFA's member-association page for Nepal (NEP) carries the official ranking and international-match record.

Interest in the national team spikes during FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifying windows and around the SAFF Championship, when searches for the team's fixtures, ranking and squad surge. During these windows, home matches are typically at Dasharath Rangasala, and broadcasters and Nepali sports media provide live coverage.

For durable reference, this hub focuses on facts that do not change day to day; for live scores and the latest ranking position, always cross-check ANFA and FIFA directly at the time of reading.