Maldives coach Istvan Urbanyi’s comments:
About team performance:
This is our first match. We are the defending champions. So, our players were under pressure. A few players did not play well. They did not create good chances. They should have scored but couldn’t finish. I am not happy with this performance, the way they played. Some key players were not running well.
About Nepal:
Opening game is always tough. I never underestimate any team. They are a very good team. I would like to thank Nepal for the way they were playing with us.
About players:
Some of our players’ fitness levels were not good. Sometimes they were slow in the fields. I have to work with them.
About next games strategy:
I have to respect every team. All games will be tough. The first game we got one point. They can do many mistakes. It takes time to solve. Match strategy may be changed in the next matches.
Nepal coach Krishna Thapa comments:I am very happy with the boys. They fought well against the champs. I am also happy for our defenders and strikers. They did great jobs.
About next matches:
We have better chance to qualify to the semis. We will play next match against India. Most of the players in the Indian team are playing first time here. So, our players have advantage. We will play man to man marking and attacking football.