National team defense has found solutions: Coach Mohan

The head coach of the National Football Team, Mohamed Shiyaz (Mohan), stated that the team has found solutions for issues within its defensive plan.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Maldives will face the Philippines in the fifth match under the guidance of Mohan, who took over as the National Team Coach in August.

Mohan, who previously served as the national team's assistant coach for a long period, said that the biggest challenge facing the Maldivian team is defensive vulnerability.

"Generally, the biggest problem facing our Maldivian team is missing ordinary goals or simple, easy goals. Therefore, we focused heavily on the necessary work to stop that from happening," Mohan said regarding the teams preparations for the Philippines match.

Mohan noted with satisfaction that they have made progress in resolving issues within the defensive game plan.

"One thing is that in the past four matches, we haven't conceded a goal from a set-piece. No goal has been scored against us from a header or a cross. So that is a great satisfaction," Mohan said during the pre-match press conference.

"We are able to play without giving the opposition, which has physically strong and tall players, the advantage. The discipline is very good. Marking and these things in the penalty area are very good."

However, he acknowledged that there are still areas in the defensive plan that needed further attention.

"Even now, very simple goals are being conceded. That is the work we need to focus on stopping now. Additionally, the timing of the goal, conceding goals within the first 10 minutes, after the start of a half. That is certainly very frustrating. Therefore, we will be focusing heavily on those things this time," Mohan stated.

He added that player fitness is not an issue since the season has already commenced.

Mohan noted that the Philippines team has many naturalized players and is therefore the strongest team in the group. He specifically highlighted that the team possesses a lot of individually talented players.

The match between the Maldives and the Philippines will be played tomorrow at the National Football Stadium, starting at 3:30 PM.