Nepal first played Laos on May 29, 2016, when they were invited for an international friendly in the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with Bishal Rai and Phatthana Syvilay scoring for Nepal and Laos, respectively.

Since then, Nepal and Laos have faced six times, and on Tuesday, the two teams will meet for the seventh time. Nepal have not lost a single game against Laos to date, and new head coach Matt Ross will be putting his men to the test to keep the streak alive.

Previous encounters

Following their first encounter that ended in a draw, Nepal and Laos faced off for the second time at the AFC Solidarity Cup in Malaysia after six months. The match, on November 12, 2016, finished 2-2 after extra time, leading to a penalty shootout.

Kiran Chemjong emerged as the hero in the tie-breaker. Nepal converted all three of their opening penalties, while Chemjong saved Laos’ first two attempts and watched the third go wide. Nepal sealed the shootout 3-0 to claim victory.

The two landlocked countries had to wait for around seven years for the third faceoff. The stage was set for the two teams when Nepal hosted the Prime Minister’s Three Nations Cup, including Bhutan, in 2023.

Nepal defeated Laos 2-0 in the group stage on March 22, 2023 and played a 1-1 draw with Bhutan on March 28. As Laos defeated Bhutan 2-1 on March 25, Nepal and Laos entered the final.

The hosts defeated Laos for the fourth time on March 31, this time with a score of 2-1, for the title.

The two teams then had to wait for around seven months again for a new encounter. Nepal and Laos played for the fifth and sixth time in the AFC First Round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification in October 2023.

Nepal and Laos were paired for a home-and-away fixture in the First Round. While the two played a 1-1 draw at Dasharath Stadium in the first leg on October 12, Nepal defeated Laos 1-0 at the latter’s home on October 17 to win the game 2-1 on aggregate.

Anjan’s lucky charm?

Nepal’s striker Anjan Bista joined Hari Khadka and Nirajan Rayamajhi as Nepal’s all-time leading goal scorer on October 12, 2023. Bista reached 13 international career goals for Nepal after scoring the equaliser against Laos during the first leg of the AFC First Round—2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Bista, who was in the squad when Nepal faced Laos for the first time in 2016, scored his first against Laos only in 2023. Since then, Bista has failed to extend his goal tally and become Nepal’s all-time leading goal scorer in the men’s category.

However, on Tuesday, Nepal are facing Laos once again and Bista is likely to start for Matt Ross. As he scored his 13th goal against Laos, the Southeast Asian country could be a lucky charm for Bista to take the number to 14.

Similarly, it will be Nepal’s second game of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualification–Third Round. Nepal, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam make up Group F in the qualifiers.

Nepal lost to Malaysia 0-2 in the first group-stage game on March 25, while Vietnam scored 5 goals past Laos. The four teams will play each other twice, and the top team of the group will qualify for the 19th edition of the AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2027.