Spirited Bangladesh face Nepal today

A spirited Bangladesh side will face host Nepal in their second FIFA tier-1 international friendly match scheduled to be held Tuesday at Dasharath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal, reports BSS. The match kicks off at 5.45pm Bangladesh time.

Bangladesh, ranked 192 in FIFA ranking, reached Nepal back with a 1-0 win over Cambodia in the first friendly match that boosted the Bangladesh team following their frustrating performance in the Asian Cup qualification in June which saw them finish at bottom in Group E after failing to secure a single victory.

It was a much-improved performance by the whole Bangladesh team; the first friendly match against Cambodia that helped the boys in red and green to earn the victory, courtesy of the lone goal by winger Rakib Hossain.

Coach Javier Cabrera must be expecting the same performance from his boys in the second friendly match against Nepal who are 16 steps ahead than Bangladesh in FIFA ranking. Though it’ll not be an easy task for Jamal Bhuyan’s team because Nepal are always a formidable side as host and they will get the support from the local crowds.

Bangladesh will take to the field with an upper hand against Nepal because in the last twenty three encounters, Bangladesh won thirteen, lost seven while the remaining three matches ended in a draw.

At the pre-match press conference held on Monday, Bangladesh national football team’s head coach Javier Cabrera said, "We are prepared for the match.  The strength of our team is that we all know each other very well. We play as a team. The boys worked hard and they (boys) want to give their best in Tuesday’s match.”

Team’s skipper Jamal Bhuyan said his team played in this ground on several occasion earlier and it’s quite familiar to some of the team's players.

He said Nepal would have their home venue advantage and have a large crowd here.

The Bangladesh captain said the success of the women’s football team in SAFF Women’s championship in this ground really inspired him before the match against Nepal and he is upbeat to snatch victory from Nepal.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh team had their gym and swimming session in the morning and completed rigorous training at Army Headquarters ground in the afternoon under the supervision of head coach Javier Cabrera.

Ashraful Islam Rana, Anisur Rahman, Mahfuz Hasan Pritom, Yeasin Arafat, Bishwanath Ghosh, Rimon Hossain, Tariq Raihan Kazi, Tutul Hosain Badsha, Riyadul Hasan, Isa Faysal, Rahmat Mia, Masuk Miah Zoni, Biplo Ahamed, Jamal Bhuyan, Rakib Hossain, Mohammad Atiqur Rahman Fahad, Sohel Rana, Hemonta Vinsent Biswas, Suman Reza, Mohammad Ibrahim, Matin Miah, Foysal Ahmed Fahim and Sazzad Hossen.