Kathmandu: Fresh from their emphatic 9-0 victory over Laos, Nepal will face familiar foes Sri Lanka in their second Group ‘F’ match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Tuesday.

Only the group winners among the four teams will advance to the Asian Women’s Cup finals, scheduled for next year in Australia. 

Hosts Uzbekistan defeated Sri Lanka 10-0 in their opening game on Sunday—the same day Nepal overcame Laos.

Nepal boast a dominant record against their South Asian rivals, having won all eight previous encounters by comfortable margins. Across those meetings, Nepal have scored 30 goals without conceding a single one.

The most recent match between the sides ended 6-0 in Nepal’s favor during the 2024 SAFF Championship last October.

According to former national women’s team coach Ananta Thapa, Nepal are clear favorites and should expect a straightforward win. “Sri Lanka might not pose a significant threat to Nepal,” he said in an interview with kheladi.com. “However, we need to remain cautious about the final group match against hosts Uzbekistan and try to score as many goals as possible.”

Tuesday’s game will be the second under newly appointed Belgian coach Patrick De Wilde, who introduced several notable changes against Laos. Altering the team’s formation, he handed the captain’s armband to star forward Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’ and gave goalkeeper Anjana Rana Magar her first start, resting regular captain and custodian Anjila Tumbapo Subba.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:15 pm (Nepal time).