SAFF Championship 2023: Maldives wins 2-0 against Bhutan

Maldives secured a 2-0 win against Bhutan in their SAFF Championships opening match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Thursday.

Maldives started the match strong, with Hamza Mohamed earning a penalty kick in the sixth minute after skillfully maneuvering past two opponents and drawing a foul. Hamza successfully converted the penalty, giving Maldives the lead.

Despite taking an early lead, Maldives faced significant pressure throughout the rest of the match.

Bhutan launched a series of relentless attacks, putting goalkeeper Hussain Shareef to the test as he defended the goal.

Maldives went into half-time with a 1-0 lead.

Despite Bhutan's efforts, their goal in the first half was disallowed due to an offside ruling. In the second half, Maldives made strategic changes that improved their performance and created scoring opportunities.

In the 90th minute, Naiz Hassan secured the victory for Maldives with a goal collecting 3 points for the team.