# Maldives national under-23 football team

The Maldives national Under-23 football team, also known as Maldives Under-23s or Maldives U23(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the Maldives national football team, and is controlled by the Football Association of Maldives.

## Asian Games
### 2002

This was the Maldives U-23s' first competitive tournament. They were eliminated from the preliminary round, after being defeated 4–0 to South Korea, 3–1 to Malaysia and 5–0 to Oman. The only goal for the Maldives was scored by Ibrahim Fazeel.

### 2006

In this year, Maldives were drawn to play in the Group A of the second round, alongside India, Hong Kong and Iran. Ashad Ali scored the only goal in the 3–1 loss against Iran. In the match against India, Ali Ashfaq scored the equalizing goal for Maldives, but they couldn't hold India till the end and lost for 2–1 as India scored the winning goal in the 89th minute of the game. The last match of the group was against Hong Kong. Maldives lost 1–0 to them as Maldives were conceded in the 11th minute of the game.

### 2010

Maldives ended up the competition at the 3rd position of Group F in the 2010 Asian Games held at China. They lost the first match, 3–0 to Oman, but they managed to draw with a score of 0–0 against Pakistan and Thailand.

## AFC U-22 Asian Cup
### 2014 AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualification

In 2012 it was announced that Maldives U23 would participate in the qualifying round of the inaugural AFC U-22 Asian Cup in June 2012.

## Recent fixtures and results
### 2012

| Date | Tournament | Location | Opponent | Stadium | Score | Maldivian Scorers |
| 3 June 2012 | Friendly | Malé, Maldives | Sri Lanka | Rasmee Dhandu Stadium | 1–1 | Nizam 4' |
| 17 Jun 2012 | Friendly | Bangkok, Thailand | Vietnam | Rajamangala National Stadium | 5–0 | |
| 19 Jun 2012 | Friendly | Bangkok, Thailand | Myanmar | Rajamangala National Stadium | 0–1 | Nizam 85' |
| 23 June 2012 | 2014 AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers | Malacca, Malaysia | Qatar | Hang Jebat Stadium | 2–0 | |
| 25 June 2012 | 2014 AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers | Malacca, Malaysia | Tajikistan | Hang Jebat Stadium | 2–1 | Imaaz 45+1' Thoriq 90+4' (o.g.) |
| 28 June 2012 | 2014 AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers | Malacca, Malaysia | Iran | Hang Jebat Stadium | 0–7 | |
| 1 July 2012 | 2014 AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers | Malacca, Malaysia | Bahrain | Hang Jebat Stadium | 1–2 | Nizam 61' |
| 3 July 2012 | 2014 AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers | Malacca, Malaysia | Kuwait | Hang Tuah Stadium | 0–8 | |
| 3 December 2012 | 2012 Mahinda Rajapaksa Int'l Trophy | Nawalapitiya, SL | Sri Lanka | Jayathilake Sports Complex | 0–3 | Assadhulla Adhuham (pen.) |
| 5 December 2012 | 2012 Mahinda Rajapaksa Int'l Trophy | Nawalapitiya, SL | Pakistan | Jayathilake Sports Complex | 0–1 | Imaaz |
| 7 December 2012 | 2012 Mahinda Rajapaksa Int'l Trophy | Nawalapitiya, SL | Bangladesh | Jayathilake Sports Complex | 1–0 | |
| 9 December 2012 | 2012 M. Rajapaksa Int'l Trophy Final | Nawalapitiya, SL | Pakistan | Jayathilake Sports Complex | 1–2 | Rilwan 57' Assadhulla 61' |

### 2013

| Date | Tournament | Location | Opponent | Stadium | Score | Maldivian Scorers |
| 21 November 2013 | 2013 Media Nusantara Citra Cup | Jakarta, Indonesia | Papua New Guinea | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium | 0–1 | Fasir 37' |
| 22 November 2013 | 2013 Media Nusantara Citra Cup | Jakarta, Indonesia | Laos | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium | 2–1 | Akram 90+2' |
| 24 November 2013 | 2013 Media Nusantara Citra Cup | Jakarta, Indonesia | Indonesia | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium | 2–1 | Fasir 12' |

### 2014

| Date | Tournament | Location | Opponent | Stadium | Score | Maldivian Scorers |
| 15 September 2014 | 2014 Asian Games | Goyang, South Korea | Thailand | Goyang Sports Complex | 2–0 | |
| 18 September 2014 | 2014 Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | Indonesia | Incheon Football Stadium | 4–0 | |
| 22 September 2014 | 2014 Asian Games | Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea | Timor-Leste | Ansan Wa~ Stadium | 3–2 | Amdhan 27' Yaamin 63' Irufaan 73' |

### 2015

| Date | Tournament | Location | Opponent | Stadium | Score | Maldivian Scorers |
| 23 March 2015 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers | Muscat, Oman | Lebanon | Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex | 1–2 | Irufaan 4' |
| 25 March 2015 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers | Muscat, Oman | Bahrain | Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex | 0–3 | |
| 27 March 2015 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers | Muscat, Oman | Iraq | Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex | 1–7 | Hamza 27' |
| 23 March 2015 | 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers | Muscat, Oman | Oman | Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex | 0–5 | |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| Team Manager | Mohamed Adhuham |
| Head coach | Ali Suzain |
| Assistant coach | Mohammed Shahid |
| Assistant coach | Sabah Mohamed |
| Goalkeeping coach | Haseeb Hameed |
| Team Doctor | Hisham Ali Zaki |

## Current squad

The following players were called up to the squad for 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Ali Naajih | (1999-12-08) December 8, 1999 (age 25) | 2 | United Victory |
| 2 | 1GK | Hassan Aleef Ahmed | (2000-10-01) October 1, 2000 (age 24) | | Eagles |
| 3 | 2DF | Ali Ajfan Amjad | | | Eydhafushi |
| 4 | 2DF | Hassan Nahwaash | (2000-03-28) March 28, 2000 (age 24) | 1 | Maziya |
| 5 | 3MF | Moosa Azeem Hassan | | 2 | United Victory |
| 6 | 2DF | Ishaq Rasheedh | | 1 | Green Streets |
| 7 | 2DF | Husain Faisal | (1999-05-15) May 15, 1999 (age 25) | 2 | Valencia |
| 8 | 2DF | Hassan Eanaaz | | 2 | TC |
| 9 | 2DF | Hamdhoon Abdhul Latheef | | 1 | TC |
| 10 | 2DF | Ahnaf Rasheed | (2001-11-23) November 23, 2001 (age 23) | 1 | Super United |
| 11 | 2DF | Ahmed Naahil Ibrahim | (2002-07-03) July 3, 2002 (age 22) | | Green Streets |
| 12 | 2DF | Haisham Hassan | (1999-07-21) July 21, 1999 (age 25) | 2 | Maziya |
| 13 | 3MF | Shaifulla Ibrahim | (1999-05-29) May 29, 1999 (age 25) | | Eagles |
| 14 | 3MF | Hussain Ahusam Moosa | (2001-03-20) March 20, 2001 (age 23) | 2 | TC |
| 15 | 3MF | Abdulla Yaameen | (2001-12-30) December 30, 2001 (age 23) | 2 | Valencia |
| 16 | 3MF | Zain Zafar | (2003-04-20) April 20, 2003 (age 21) | 2 | Eagles |
| 17 | 3MF | Ismail Zaan Amir | (2000-10-11) October 11, 2000 (age 24) | 2 | Valencia |
| 18 | 4FW | Zayaan Naseer | | 2 | TC |
| 19 | 4FW | Haisham Rasheed | | 1 | TC |
| 20 | 4FW | Ahmad Bassam | (2001-01-17) January 17, 2001 (age 24) | 2 | United Victory |
| 22 | 4FW | Nishaam Mohamed Rasheed | (1999-01-31) January 31, 1999 (age 25) | 2 | TC |
| 23 | 4FW | Mohamed Jailam | (1999-10-13) October 13, 1999 (age 25) | 2 | Green Streets |
| 25 | 4FW | Hassan Nazeem | (2001-05-24) May 24, 2001 (age 23) | 2 | Maziya |

## Coaches

| Name | Period |
| István Urbányi | 2011–2013 |
| Drago Mamić | 2014 |
| Assad Abdul Ghanee | 2015 |
| René Hiddink | 2021– |