So far, only four Asian countries have made it to the World Cup in the conventional way - Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran. When the most watched sports event, the football World Cup, kicks off in Germany this year, billions of viewers will see - in addition to the teams from 32 countries - Nepali players score a telling win, courtesy the new Coke ad. Nepal did make it in some ways huh, Kudos to nepal < font size = '12'>Nepal wins wild card to World Cup By Sudeshna Sarkar, Kathmandu: When the most watched sports event, the football World Cup, kicks off in Germany this year, billions of viewers will see - in addition to the teams from 32 countries - Nepali players score a telling win, courtesy the new Coke ad. For its upmarket Powerades drink, to be shown during the World Cup matches, Coke decided to shoot a new ad and chose Nepal as its locale. Snowy Mustang district in northern Nepal, once part of the ancient Tibetan kingdom and even now retaining its old world flavour with yaks plying the roads, was chosen as the site for the new shoot. A team from Germany went to Jhong village, a seven-hour walk from Jomsom, the district headquarters. Accompanying it were 20 footballers chosen from Nepal. While 10 of the players are Nepalis, the rest are African booters who have been playing with Nepali clubs. Recently, the African players in Nepal formed a club of their own, African United (AU), which participated in local tourneys and won at least two tournaments. AU captain Nigerian Obagbemiro, who had been playing for the Brigade Boys' Club of Kathmandu, caught the eye because of his spirited performance, including at the Marturs' Memorial League, where he was the highest goal scorer. The ad shows the diminutive Nepali players besting the tall, strapping Africans, powered by sips of Powerades. "Though Nepal is not mentioned by name, yet the ad will generate tremendous publicity for Nepal," said Bal Kishan Gurung, brand manager with ITC joint venture Surya Nepal, a prime sponsor of football tourneys in the Himalayan kingdom. "People will be curious to know where the ad was shot, who the players are. The fresh interest will help tourism and Nepal should exploit this opportunity." So far, only four Asian countries have made it to the World Cup in the conventional way - Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Nepali national football team is yet to make it to the qualifying rounds. However, it has begun on a victorious note, defeating India's formidable East Bengal club 2-0 last month and going to the AFC Challenge Cup in Dhaka, where they beat Bhutan 2-0 in the opening match Sunday. Source : http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=36638