Nepal progressed into the second round of the AFC Qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Tuesday after they defeated Laos 1-0 in the second leg at the New Laos National Stadium in Vientiane for a 2-1 aggregate victory.

Manish Dangi’s goal eight minutes after the break was enough to see Nepal advance after the sides had drawn 1-1 in the first leg at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Thursday.

Coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese made three changes in the squad starting Dinesh Henjan, Utsav Rai and Arik Bista.

The Italian coach is still experimenting with the players as the exodus of Nepali footballers including Bimal Gharti Magar and Sujal Shrestha to Australia has left a big void in Nepali football.

Arik replaced Aashish Chaudhary in the back line to close the defensive hole that allowed Laos to take the lead in Kathmandu. Coach Annese swapped Henjan for Ayush Ghalan, who looked off at home, and Rai took the place of Awas Lamichhane in the midfield.

Arik, Henjan and Rai all had come in as second-half substitutes in Nepal’s fightback in their home fixture four days ago.

But Nepal still lacked composure and struggled to break the Laos defence in the first half, with their only viable chance coming towards the end of the whistle when Tamang sneaked past Laos defenders to find a free kick from Henjan inside the six yard box but the defender could not put his shot at the goal.

Laos had threatened the Nepal box in the 17th minute when Kydavone Souvanny set up Michael Vang with a deft pass but captain and goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu came to the rescue with a diving save.

Nepal showed an improved game after the restart and Dangi made it count in the 53rd minute to break the deadlock. Arik orchestrated the attack, releasing Anjan in the left. Anjan bulldozed the ball into the box and cut back for Dangi who flicked into the back of the net.

The lead re-energised Nepal, who then kept constant pressure in the opponents’ box.

But Laos were always a threat in counter attack and set pieces. They came close to equalising when Chanthaviphone Phoumsavan’s misdirected header off a corner from Chanthavixay Khounthoumphone got in the way of Anantaza Siphongphan who stretched for missed the header.

Laos continued to search for an equaliser and their chance came in the 77th minute. Phoutthavong Sangvilay dropped a free kick inside the Nepal’s penalty box. The ball bounced off the ground and found Thipphachanh Inthavong but the defender fired over the bar.

At the other end, Anjan almost went down in the history books as Nepal’s all-time top goalscorer minutes later but his fick-on header missed the target by inches in the 82nd minute. Bista had scored his record-equalling 13th international goal in the first leg against Laos.

Nepal almost paid for a defensive error two minutes later when Sanish Shrestha’s poor clearance ran into Chanthavixay at the edge of the area but the Laos midfielder’s powerful shot went wide.

Goalkeeper Limbu came to the huge rescue once again in the second half injury time impressively blocking an almost certain goal off a header from Souvanny as the Gorkhalis held on for a nervy victory.

Speaking at the post-match conference, Dangi, the sole goal scorer, said that they were very happy with the win. “The win is special for the fans back home as it comes on the occasion of Dashain,” he said. “We will now enjoy Dashain but will be focused [on our game] immediately after that. We have important matches in November and we will work harder for that. For now we’ll enjoy [the victory].”

Laos assistant coach Phoutpasong Sengdalavong congratulated Nepal and lamented that they missed their important player to injury. “The match was another learning opportunity for our players who are young and can only get better,” he said. “We wish Nepal the best ahead in the group stage. We made several mistakes as well. We will have a lot to work on.”

Nepal’s next opponents will be the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen in the Group H of the second round, where 36 teams have been divided into nine groups of four participants. The teams will play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The nine group winners and group runners-up will qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and the third round of 2026 World Cup Qualification.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Yemen, Myanmar, Pakistan, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Hong Kong also progressed into the second round.

The second round is expected to begin in November.