Kathmandu, Feb. 29: Nepal earned a crucial corner kick in the final minutes of the five-minute added time when the score was 1-1 with Lebanon in the semi-final match of the 8th WAFF Women’s Championship at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.

Bimala Chaudhary played the ball to the box from the corner but it was cleared with a header by the opponent. As the cleared ball got outside the 18-yard box, it found Nepal’s prolific midfielder Preeti Rai. 

Shooting from outside the box, Rai found the lower left corner and made it 2-1 for Nepal to book a place in the final against the mighty Jordan.

The video of Rai scoring the mesmerising winner has been the hottest topic on social media since Wednesday midnight. With this goal, Nepal reached the final of the WAFF Women’s Championship in its first visit to West Asia. Nepal won all four matches it played in the campaign to reach the finale. 

Nepal’s women’s team always had bad luck in the final. Progressing to the final of the first SAFF Women’s Championship in 2010, the women’s team had reached the finals of international competitions 10 times since then. But Nepal did win none.

Now Nepal is looking to break the deadlock in the 11th final this time against Jordan. 

However, it is not going to be easy to beat the defending champion Jordan, which has won the championship five times in its seven editions. Moreover, it is tougher after the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) informed that goal-machine Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’ would miss the final.

ANFA informed that Samba, who scored the first goal against Lebanon in the semis, would be missing the final because, “Currently representing EV Guingamp in France, Sabitra’s contract with the club permits her to represent her country in competitions and tournaments held during FIFA window dates. While the group stage and semi-final match of the WAFF Women’s Championship fell within the February 19-28 FIFA Window, the final on February 29 does not align with this timeframe….We want to clarify that Sabitra will not be available for selection in the national team for the final against Jordan.”

Scoring the first goal for Nepal to equalise against Lebanon, Samba scored her ninth goal of the competition in four matches. She is followed by Jordan’s Maysa Jbarah (5 goals in four matches).

Sabitra’s unavailability could be a major setback for Nepal. Furthermore, Jordan is not an easy team to begin with.

Currently, Nepal is placed 105th in the FIFA Women’s Team Ranking and Jordan ranks 74th. While Nepal’s best ranking so far has been 91st in 2017, Jordan’s best was 50th the same year.

Talking in the post-match conference after the win against Lebanon, Preeti said, “We had difficulties in the first half as we were not comfortable with the stadium. We reached the final as I scored the winning goal… but I also want to win the final. Until I do not win the final, it is not enough.”