SAFF Championship: Maldives faces crushing defeat against Bangladesh

Maldives has faced a crushing defeat against Bangladesh in the ongoing SAFF Championship.

Sunday’s game ended 3 – 1.

This marks the first time in 20 years that Bangladesh has defeated the Maldives.

With this humiliating loss, the chances are slim for Maldives making a spot in the semifinals.

As such, although the national team beat Bhutan in its first match of the tournament, it is now crucial for the team to win its upcoming game against Lebanon, dubbed the most intimidating team in Group B.

Lebanon beat Bangladesh in its first match of the tournament, 2 – 0.

Maldives went head-to-head with Bangladesh on June 25, with a few changes in the squad. As such, Ibrahim Hassan Waheed and Ibrahim Mahudhee Hassan were replaced by Ali Fasir and Naaiz Hassan.

Maldives took the lead at the beginning of the game, with Ali Fair having paved a chance to score for Hamza Mohamed, who scored the first goal for the team in the game.

Although the Maldives’ team took the lead, the game was mostly controlled by Bangladeshi players.

This led to Bangladesh tying the score with a goal by Rakeeb Hussain, three minutes before the first half ended.

The first half ended with both teams tying 1 – 1.

Into the beginning of the second half, Bangladesh continued to show excellent performance and scored another goal, expanding the lead for the team at the 66th minute. The team’s third goal was scored by Morsalin during the additional time played.

The national team’s third game and the final game in the group stage, will be against Lebanon, on June 28.

The SAFF Championship is being held from June 21 – July 4 in Bengaluru, India.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

Maldives is placed in the same group as Lebanon, Bangladesh and Bhutan this SAFF Championship.