Maldives beat Nepal 2-1

Maldives defeated Nepal 2–1 in a closely contested match in the men’s SAFF Futsal Championship on Thursday, moving a step closer to lifting the trophy.

Both sides created several scoring opportunities in an intense first half, which ended goalless. Maldives broke the deadlock four minutes into the second half when Abdulla Shafiu (Shaappe) scored a goal.

Nepal responded quickly with an equalizer, but Maldives regained the lead later in the match. Captain Mohamed Imran scored the goal from a free kick after Shafiu was fouled just outside the penalty area. The Nepalese player involved in the foul was shown a red card.

The result marks Nepal’s first defeat in four matches in the tournament. Maldives, meanwhile, have won all four of their matches and sit top of the table with 12 points.

Bangladesh, who trail Maldives by seven points after three matches, are set to face Pakistan today, while India will play Bhutan later tonight.

Maldives have two matches remaining in the tournament. They will face Bhutan on Saturday and Sri Lanka on Monday. A victory against Bhutan will be enough to secure the championship.