A late penalty won by substitute Ali Ashfaq (Dhagandey) helped the Maldives come from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over East Timor, ending their Asian Cup qualifying campaign on a winning note this afternoon.
This was the 99th international match for Ashfaq, widely considered the greatest player the Maldives has ever produced, marking his return to the national jersey after three years.
In the 67th minute of the first match under the leadership of Hungarian coach István Urbányi, who has returned for his third stint with the national team, East Timor took the lead against the Maldives. Alexandro Lemos scored the goal following a ball delivered by their captain, Paulo Freitas.
The tide turned when Ashfaq and Ali Fasir (Sentey) were brought on for the final 10 minutes. Consequently, New Radiant midfielder Ahmed Irfan (Irey) equalized for the Maldives in the 89th minute.
Fasir scored the winning goal for the Maldives from the penalty. The referee awarded the penalty for a foul committed by the East Timor goalkeeper on Dhagandey. Sentey took the penalty as Dhagandey was outside the pitch receiving treatment at the time.
This was the first match played under Urbányi’s guidance since he took charge of the national team for the third time. The Maldives had lost all five of its previous matches in the group stage of the qualifiers. However, with this final-match victory, the Maldives has found hope for the matches ahead this year.
Furthermore, this marks the first victory at the Galolhu Stadium since the Maldives defeated Bangladesh 2-0 in a friendly match in March 2022. Following that, they had won 1-0 against Pakistan in March 2023 at the L. Gan Zone Stadium.
The coach also gave two players the opportunity to play in the national jersey for the first time in today's match. While young forward Muzdan Hassan was brought on in the second half to replace Ibrahim Mahudhee Hussain (Feydhoo Ibbe), Ali Haafiz (Haappe) was subbed on in the 59th minute to replace Ibrahim Waheed Hassan (Ibbe).
