At least a draw with Nepal necessary

Bangladesh will need a draw against visiting Nepal on Saturday's match to reach the semi-final of the seven-nation SAFF Suzuki Cup 2018.

The must-win game for Nepal's semi-final berth will begin at 7:00pm at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the capital.

Bangladesh are now atop the four-team Group 'A' collecting six points from two outings. The hosts started their campaign with a 2-0 win against Bhutan before securing a 1-0 goal victory against Pakistan in the second game.

Nepal started their journey with a 1-2 defeat against Pakistan in the tournament opener before stunned Bhutan by 4-0 goals to keep their hope for last four berth alive.

In another match of Saturday, if Bhutan manage to beat Pakistan, Bangladesh will reach semi-finals, even if the hosts suffer a loss against Nepal.

If Pakistan beat Bhutan, Bangladesh will need at least a draw against Nepal to confirm its last-four berth.

In the last three editions, Bangladesh made their exit from the group stage. The host side had a successful campaign in the SAFF Championship 2003 with a 1(5)-1(3) win in a penalty shootout against the Maldives in the final at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Bangladesh are hosting the event for the third time after 2003 and 2009, since its the tournament’s inception in 1993.

Bangladesh squad:Ashraful Islam Rana, Shahidul Alam Sohel, Anisur Rahman, Topu Barman, Nasiruddin Chowdhury, Bishwanath Ghosh, Tutul Hossain Badsha, Waly Faisal, Susanta Tripura, Masuk Miah Zony, Mamunul Islam Mamun, Emon Mahmud Babu, Faisalo Mahmud, Sohel Rana, Biplu Ahmed, Atiqul Islam Fahad, Jamal Bhuiyan, Shahkawat Hossain Rony, Mahbubur Rahman Sufil and Saaduddin.