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Nepal’s last international match was a 4-0 loss to the Philippines. Prior to that, they suffered the humiliation of a 9-0 loss in the first leg of the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Jordan. Even though they drew 1-1 in the second leg, the aggregate score showed the real story.
Maldives’ last three games were all against Seychelles, and they won two of those games, going down 5-1 in the other.
Maldives coach, Istavan Urbanyi, has mentioned of the need to treat every game “like a final” as that shall ensure a 100% effort from his boys.
Urbanyi was appointed as coach of the national team only five weeks prior to the start of the tournament, though he does know team well as he was their coach a couple of years back as well.
Head to head encounters (last 3 matches)
Nepal 1-1 Maldives (2009)
Nepal 1-4 Maldives (2008)
Nepal 2-3 Maldives (2003)
