National Team Coach Ali Suzain says last night's defeat at the hands of Nepal in the first fixture of the national football team in the SAFF Championship 2021 has put the team under pressure.
Nepal scored an 86th-minute winner to record a famous win, its first over the Maldives in a SAFF Championship match.
Speaking to the media after the defeat, Suzain said that the loss has made things difficult for the national team.
Suzain said not securing 3 points in the first match of the tournament had put the team under pressure.
He pointed that the team had played good football during spells in the match but were put under pressure on several occasions when the Nepalese team counter-attacked. He said that the opposition had scored on one such occasion and congratulated the team for their historic win against the Red Snappers.
The National Team Coach also said that because of last night's defeat more work is required to revert the situation.
The loss in the first match leaves the Maldives at the bottom of the table along with Sri Lanka who lost to Bangladesh in their opening fixture.
The Maldives take on Bangladesh next and the Bangladeshi team could be in a better position than now if they beat India on Monday.
