Ali Thameem
The Maldives National Football team has resumed its practice sessions in Galolhu Stadium tonight.
Nearly four months since the national team last played an international game, the Red Snappers are preparing to compete in the third round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualification.
Players from Club Eagles, Odi Sports and others have joined tonight’s training session. Maziya Sports and Recreation has informed Sidibari of their release to players from tomorrow night onwards.
In preparation, team Maldives plans to play a friendly match against the Indian national team in Shillong, India. While the Indian team has also started training sessions, Indian media have reported that their former captain Sunil Chhetri will come out of retirement ahead of their upcoming international games.
The match against India is scheduled for 19th March at Shillong’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Maldives falls into Group A in this round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers alongside Philippines, Tajikistan and Timor-Leste. Since it is a double round-robin format, Maldives will face each opponent twice; once away and once at home. All three away games of Maldives are scheduled for this year; the first is on 25th March against the Philippines in Manila.
The last time Maldives played an international game was against Bangladesh four months ago.
While Maldives managed to defeat Bangladesh in the first of the two friendly games, Bangladesh won the second match with a last-minute comeback. The Maldivian team will continue to play – as they did in November – under the supervision of head coach Ali Suzain.
