Maldives Crash Out of SAFF Championship After 1-0 Loss to India; Coach Urbányi Dodges Questions

The Maldives were eliminated from the 2026 SAFF Championship group stage after losing 1-0 to India at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Monday, with coach István Urbányi refusing to answer questions from Maldivian journalists after the match. The result follows a 3-0 defeat to Pakistan in the opening game and marks the second consecutive time the Maldives have been knocked out in the group stage. It is also the first time the national team has finished a SAFF tournament without scoring a single goal. At the post-match press conference, Urbányi first noted that India coach Noushad Moosa had praised the Maldives in his earlier briefing, saying such praise from an opposing coach should be accepted. "First of all, I am very happy that the India coach praised us. The way the opposing team always sees it is also an important thing," Urbányi said. He said his approach was to control the match with as little possession as possible and to hold out until the end of the half, but that did not happen. Although his side needed to push for an equaliser in the second half, he said good attacking runs were not seen. When a Maldivian journalist asked whether he was considering leaving the coaching job given the poor record, Urbányi dismissed the question as completely irrelevant. "The second half we played a very intense game. I am also very happy with the play of the young players. Our team does not take high-intensity runs at the international level. I will think about that," Urbányi said, without answering the question. When Vann Sports tried to ask whether the campaign was a failure given that time was available but no result was produced, Urbányi began giving an unrelated answer mid-question. He also said answers to those questions would be given after returning to Malé, and although he paused briefly to allow the question to be completed again, he again drifted into other talk related to the match. Urbányi took charge as Maldives coach for the third time in January this year. He first took the role alongside that of technical director of the under-20 team for the SAFF under-20 tournament. After that tournament was played in the Maldives, Urbányi ended it with disappointing results. Although there were players who stood out at regional level in the under-20 age group, he could not produce a result. With the senior team, Urbányi has achieved only one win, against Timor-Leste.