The national team’s captain, Samooh Ali, has called for a large turnout of supporters at the stadium as the national team prepares to face Tajikistan in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. Samooh stated that the support of fans plays a crucial role in winning a match and urged as many people as possible to come to the Galolhu Stadium tomorrow to cheer for the national team. Despite losing five consecutive matches in recent times, Samooh said that the team’s morale has been boosted by the success in the SAFF Championship in Sri Lanka. However, he admitted that there are some challenges in facing supporters at home after a long break.
“We’re actually playing a match at Galolhu Stadium after a very long time. There will be some difficulties. But all players are focused on getting a point or winning this match. I would like to tell the supporters to come to the stadium and support us; God willing, all players will try to produce a good result,” Samooh said. He acknowledged that they lost to Tajikistan in the previous match due to mistakes but considers playing the upcoming match on home ground as a significant positive. Samooh believes that with the encouragement of supporters, the players’ confidence will improve, and the team’s performance will continue to get better in the future.
“That’s a huge positive. When players’ confidence improves, they try to control the ball and play. God willing, that will continue to improve in the future,” said the national team captain. Samooh highlighted that playing in front of home supporters on their own turf is motivating. He mentioned that the national team has previously played strong matches against formidable teams at Galolhu Stadium, and playing on home ground gives them an advantage in achieving success. He added that as the team prepares under the coach’s guidance, every player’s determination is to win the match and bring smiles to the Maldivian supporters.
He said that the national team’s performance is improving day by day and believes this is a team that will achieve sweet successes in the future. “The current squad is improving day by day. God willing, we will see good results in the future,” Samooh said. The AFC Asian Cup Qualifier match between Maldives and Tajikistan is scheduled for tomorrow at 15:30. Tickets for this match are currently on sale at Galolhu Stadium. Tickets will be available at the ticket counter from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Tomorrow, ticket sales will begin at 10:00 AM. The price for bleacher seats is 50 rufiyaa, while chair seats cost 100 rufiyaa.
