Maldives clinch South Asian super-cup with aggregate win over Sri Lanka

The Maldives emerged victorious in the inaugural South Asian Super Cup after defeating Sri Lanka 4-1 on aggregate over two legs. Despite a 1-1 draw in today’s match, the Maldivian side had already secured a strong advantage with a dominant 3-0 win in the first leg.

The South Asian Super Cup was initially planned as a short tournament by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka. However, several invited nations were unable to participate, prompting organizers to adapt the format. With only the Maldives confirming their participation, the tournament was reduced to a two-match series between the two sides, with the aggregate winner crowned champions.

In today’s match, Sri Lanka started brightly. Their best early chance came in the 20th minute when Dylan de Silva narrowly missed the target. The Maldives responded with an opportunity of their own as midfielder Ahmed Aiham found himself in the box with the goalkeeper off position, but no teammate was nearby to finish the chance into the empty net.

Sri Lanka’s top striker, Wasim Razeek, had a golden chance just before halftime but failed to control the ball, sending his shot wide. Razeek, who famously scored a hat-trick in a 4-4 draw during the 2021 Four Nations Cup, was unable to find the net in either leg against the Maldives this time.

Midway through the first half, the Maldives suffered a blow when striker Ahmed Rizwan was injured and had to be replaced by captain and defender Samooh Ali. His introduction added solidity to the back line, but it also pushed midfielder Hamza Mohamed into a more advanced role to support the attack.

Sri Lanka continued to press, with Sam Drant delivering a fine cross to Razeek in the second half, only for the striker’s header to drift wide once again.

The Maldives eventually struck on the counter. Ali Fasir (Sentey) broke into the box and delivered a cross that was met by a powerful header from Ibrahim Mahdi Hussain (Feydhu Ibbe). The ball hit the crossbar and rebounded kindly for Naiz Hussain (Dhaadhu), who calmly slotted it home to give the Maldives the lead.

Sri Lanka kept pushing and found a late equalizer in second-half stoppage time through Oliver Kelat, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the aggregate deficit.