India vs Maldives Highlights, International Friendly: Chhetri scores on return as Blue Tigers beat Maldives 3-0
India vs Maldives Highlights, International Friendly: Chhetri scores on return as Blue Tigers beat Maldives 3-0
India will be boosted by the win against Maldives and will look to carry the spark when it hosts Bangladesh in its first match of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier third-round on March 25.
Manolo Marquez gets his first win as the India men’s national football team manager and the team gets its first win in 489 days. Two set-piece headers from Rahul Bheke and Liston Colaco put the Blue Tigers in the driving seat while talisman Sunil Chhetri scored his 95th goal on his return to the national team.
And that is the last major action of the match as the referee blows the whistle for full time.
Mahesh takes a corner from the left and the ball is cleared away only as far as Apuia outside the box. He takes a touch and shoots it on the half-volley, but ends up sending the ball wide of the left post.
Irfan runs up to a ball played through into the box. However, the flag goes up for offside and Irfan is shown a yellow card for wasting time by putting the ball into the back of the net.
Bheke finds Ashique on the left with a ball over the top. The youngster however is unable to bring it under control and concedes a throw in.
Five minutes of added time to play.
Raif tries to bring the ball under control and drive down the right wing. Substitute Abhishek does well to wrestle him off and win the ball for the Blue Tigers.
Maldives captain Samooh is shown a yellow card after a bad challenge on Irfan.
Maldives: Sifaau is replaced by Usamaa.
Mahesh gets the ball and takes a shot from outside the box which is saved by Shareef.
Maldives: Mahudee and Aiham are replaced by Raif and Nisham.
India: Chhetri, Liston and Bose are replaced by Irfan, Abhishek Singh and Ashique
Maldives gets a freekick in the opposition half after Farukh commits a foul.
Maldives gets three corners in a row but is unable to produce anything fruitful from them.
A corner comes in from the right for Maldives which is headed away from danger by Mehtab Singh.
Chhetri scores!! Mahesh plays a low cross into the middle which is missed by Farukh. The ball is recycled by Liston on the left who puts it back into the six-yard area.
Chhetri is there and flicks the ball with his head past the Maldives goalkeeper.
Ibrahim with the ball on the right for Maldives. He plays a low cross into the box where substitute Nazeem makes a good run. He gets a touch but it is not enough to trouble Kaith who catches the ball easily.
Liston plays the ball through for Mahesh into the box. However, the pass is heavy and Mahesh is unable to stop it from going out for a goal kick.
Maldives: Hamza, Fasir and Naim are replaced by Nazeem, Naiz and Nihaan.
Ahmed Aiham is shown a yellow card for a foul on Boris.
Liston scores! Mahesh stands over the corner on the left and curls the ball into the middle. Liston jumps above the Maldives defence and heads the ball with power into the goal to double the lead.
Play resumes.
Mahesh threads the ball through to Farukh on the right. He cuts it back to Liston inside the box. He hits it first time and Shareef makes an excellent save to keep his side in the tie.
Play is stopped as Ibrahim stays on the ground after a challenge from Bose.
Farukh gets the ball inside the box and is not able to bring it under control. The loose ball falls to Mahesh whose left-footed shot goes over the bar.
India: Suresh and Valpuia are replaced by Boris Singh and Apuia.
Liston gets the ball on the left and tries to get past Sifaau. The Maldives defender wins the battle this time and clears the ball away.
Looks like Manolo Marquez is getting ready to make some changes.
Farukh combines with Chhetri to get into the box. He tries to cut back a pass to the captain instead of going for goal. The Maldives defence closes him down and gives away a corner.
Liston gets the ball on the left side of the box and puts in a cross with his left which goes out directly for a goal kick.
Maldives has possession of the ball for the first time in the second half. Ahmed gets it on the edge of the box and takes a shot which was always going wide.
Farukh gets the ball once again and hits it with power this time. The ball sails over the goal in the end.
Farukh gets the ball on the right and has acres of space in front of him. He drives to the byline and tries to cut the ball back for Chhetri. However, he slips and the ball is cleared away from danger.
Maldives wins a freekick in its own half after Liston fouls Ibrahim.
If India manages to hold onto the lead, it will its first win in 489 days.
A cross comes from the right corner and Chhetri gets his head on the ball. Hamza with an important goal-line clearance to deny the star from scoring his 95th goal.
India is on the front foot and Mahesh wins an early corner.
Maldives kicks off the second half shooting from left to right.
Liston uses his pace to drive down the left wing before playing a cross into the box. However, the pass goes above all the players and the chance is wasted.
And that is the last major action of the half as the referee blows the whistle for half time.
Valpuia gives the ball to Farukh on the right and the flag immediately goes up for offside against the substitute.
Three minutes of added time to play in the first half.
Vulpuia gets the ball on the right side of the box. He plays a lovely cross into the middle where Chhetri lines up for the header. However, Farukh comes in front of him and heads the ball off-target.
A ball is played through for Hamza down the right. Valpuia does well to get in front of him and win the ball.
India wins another corner after Samooh clears the ball away from Farukh.
Yellow card for Hussain Sifaau after a bad foul on Liston.
India: Brandon is replaced by Farukh.
Looks like Brandon will not be able to continue and is stretchered off the field.
The medical staff is making their way onto the field to assess the situation. Farukh Choudhary is warming up on the sidelines.
Play is stopped as Brandon goes to ground with an injury.
Maldives is looking for an instant reply and wins a corner.
Bheke scores!! Brandon curls the ball into the box from a corner on the right. Bheke rises the highest inside the box and nods the ball into the back of the net to take the lead.
Mahesh cleverly finds Brandon on the right. He tries to quickly put the ball into the middle but ends up winning a corner.
Corner comes in from the right for India. Mehtab gets his head on the ball but fails to keep it on target.
Mahesh gets the ball along the right but fails to control the ball as the ball goes out of play. Meanwhile, Brandon goes to the ground, wreathing in pain.
Bose and Liston combine to help the latter cross the ball into the middle. Chhetri is there but once again Samooh makes the interception and clears the ball away.
Chettri clips the ball towards Mahesh on the right wing. His touch is poor and he ends up conceding a throw in.
Suresh plays a ball over the top for Chhetri. The 40-year-old chases the ball but Maldives captain Samooh does well under pressure and clears the ball away.
A battle for the ball ensues in the middle of the pitch between Suresh and Ahmed. The latter wins the duel and secures possession for his side.
Liston stands over the freekick and goes for the goal himself. The ball whizzes past the right post in the end.
India wins a freekick outside the box after Liston is fouled by Ibrahim.
Liston puts in a cross at the far post from the left. Mahesh is there but he watches as it sails over his head and out for a goal kick.
Naim is back on his feet and looks fit to continue.
Play resumes.
Play is stopped as Naim goes to the ground clutching his ankle. He is receiving medical treatment at the moment.
Suresh gets past his man on the right wing and finds Brandon on the edge of the box. He tries to hit it first time and does not make a clean connection as the ball bounces past the right post.
Liston gets the ball on the left and dances his way into the box. He cuts back a pass for Mahesh which is stopped by an important interception from Numan.
Mahesh plays the ball to Valpuia on the right. He puts in a cross which is easily cleared away by the opposition defence.
India has had the majority of possession so far in the game but has lacked the precision in the final third of the field.
Brandon stands over the freekick and puts in a good-looking cross. Ibrahim gets a touch on it ahead of Bheke and it flashes across the goal and out for a corner.
Liston wins a freekick on the left side of the box after drawing a foul from Hussain.
India wins the ball in the opposition half and it comes to Valpuia on the right wing. He ends up winning a corner for his side.
Suresh tries to playa through ball down the right. But no one has made a run and the ball rolls out for a goal kick.
Maldives wins a freekick in the middle of the pitch after Suresh fouls Ibrahim.
Suresh plays a ball over the top to Chhetri who heads it down at the edge of the box. However, he does not have any support and the ball is cleared away.
Maldives forward Hamza gets the ball outside the box and takes a shot. Bheke stands strong and blocks the attempt out for a throw-in.
India is dominating possession of the ball in the opening minutes of the match with Maldives content on sitting back and defending.
Brandon gets the ball on the far side and tries to hold off two opposition players. However, he ends up giving away a throw in.
India wins a freekick in the opposition half after Naim fouls Liston.
The match will be a dress rehearsal for both teams with India and Maldives facing Bangladesh and Philippines respectively in the AFC Asian Cup qualifier next week.
At the other end, Kaith has the first touch of the ball and ends up slipping and conceding a corner when put under pressure.
Liston plays the ball through for Chhetri into the box. He squares the ball into the middle where a Maldives defender heads the ball towards goal. The goalkeeper makes a save and spills the ball into the path of Mahesh.
However, his attempt is cleared away for a corner by an important interception.
India is on the attack right from kick-off. But Suresh ends up giving away the ball and Mehtab has to track back and win the ball back.
India kicks off the match shooting from left to right.
The players are making their way into the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong. Sunil Chhetri leads the home side while Samooh Ali leads Maldives.
1 – July 10, 2011 – Rasmee Dhandu Stadium, Male
2 – December 9, 2011 – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
3 – December 9, 2011 – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
4 – August 25, 2012 – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
5 – August 25, 2012 – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
6 – December 31, 2015 – Trivandrum International Stadium, Trivandrum
7 – October 13, 2021 – Rasmee Dhandu Stadium, Male
8 – October 13, 2021 – Rasmee Dhandu Stadium, Male
Sunil Chhetri has faced Maldives six times in his career so far with the last meeting happening in 2021 in the group stages of the SAFF Championship. India beat Maldives 3-1, with Chhetri scoring a match-winning brace.
The two strikes brought his tally up to eight goals against Maldives, which is the second most he has scored against a single opponent, behind Nepal (9).
Played: 21
India: 15
Maldives: 4
Draws: 2
Shareef (gk), Samooh Ali, Ahmed Numan, Yoosuf, Hassan, Aiham, Ibrahim, Hussaina, Naim, Hamza, Ali Fasir
Kaith (gk), Bheke, Bose, Mehtab, Colaco, Suresh, Brandon, Ayush Chhetri, Mahesh, Valpuia, Sunil Chhetri
The India vs Maldives International Friendly match will kick off at 7:00 PM IST on Wednesday, March 19 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong.
The match will be telecast on the StarSports Network. It will also be live-streamed on the JioHotstar app and website.
Welcome to Sportstar’s live blog of the India vs Maldives International Friendly match being played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong.
