Nepal have included three new faces in the 23-member final squad of SAFF Championship announced on Thursday for the sub-continental event scheduled from June 21 to July 4 in Bengaluru, India.

Midfielder Laken Limbu and defenders Bimal Pandey and Simanta Thapa are the players to be named in the national squad for the first time by Italian head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese.

Limbu is the midfielder of Three Star Club that is struggling to avoid relegation in the ongoing Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League. Thapa plays for Jawalakhel Youth Club and Pandey for Tribhuvan Army Football Club in the ‘A’ Division League.

Nepal are scheduled to play a friendly against the Philippines on June 15 to prepare for the championship and will leave for the Southeast Asian Country on June 12. The ‘A’ Division League will conclude only on June 10 and the team will have a one-day preparation before leaving for the Southeast Asian country.

Despite coach Annese’s willingness to conduct the training camp a few weeks prior to the championship, the clubs did not release 30 players called in the national camp citing the ongoing ‘A’ Division League which saw Church Boys United as the new champions in the penultimate round on Tuesday.

The relegation battle is down to the wire and the two teams to be relegated at the end of the 14-team league will be determined in the last rounds only—Friday and Saturday.

When asked if the preparation period was enough for the championship, ANFA spokesperson Suresh Shah said, “The players are in good shape as they have been training continuously with their respective clubs for the league. However, the time to train together as a team is not sufficient.”

Nepal are pitted alongside hosts India, Kuwait and Pakistan in Group A. Group B consists of Lebanon, Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The last edition’s runners-up Nepal will take on Kuwait in the curtain raiser on June 21 before vying against host India on June 24. Nepal will play their final group game against Pakistan on June 27.

Kuwait and Lebanon—both from outside the South Asian region—are participating in the SAFF Championship as guests. They were invited by the South Asian Football Federation with a view to make the championship more competitive.

Nepal squad

Goalkeepers: Kiran Chemjong, Deep Karki, Bishal Shrestha

Defenders: Bimal Panday, Sanish Shrestha, Ananta Tamang, Devendra Tamang, Nishant Khadka, Rohit Chand, Simanta Thapa

Midfielders: Pujan Uperkoti, Arik Bista, Nabin Lama, Mani Kumar Lama, Laken Limbu, Avas Lamichhane

Forwards: Ayush Ghalan, Nawayug Shrestha, Dipak Raj Singh Thakuri, Anjan Bista, Manish Dangi, Aashish Chaudhary, Bimal Gharti Magar