Bangladesh seek to exploit Maldives’ defensive woes

After a good start to the tournament with a win and a draw, Bangladesh will now take on hosts and defending Champions Maldives in their third game of the SAFF Championship.

Oscar Bruzon’s men beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in their opening match, before holding India 1-1 with 10-man to collect four points from their two games.

Contrary to Bangladesh’s good start, Maldives lost their opening game of the tournament to Nepal and have to win against Bangladesh to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive. Bruzon believes that the game will be harder for the hosts and wants to keep Bangladesh’s good start going.

“I think the game will be even more challenging for Maldives. Because it’s a final for them, and as the host nation, they cannot afford to drop more points to stay alive in the competition. We are reaching the game in a good position, and we don’t want to spoil it. Our goal is to keep accumulating points so that we have all the chances alive before our last game against Nepal,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

Maldives have had their defensive woes as they have conceded 11 goals in their last four games. And according to the Bangladesh head coach’s words, they are looking to target that and find a solution to the goalscoring problems they have been facing.

“Maldives’ four players up front are differential. We need to play very smart and stay concentrated to keep a clean sheet. But I’m sure tomorrow we will not be playing against the best defence of the tournament. I think this is going to be a good opportunity to start getting those goals,” he said.

Against the hosts, Bruzon will not have defender Bishwanath Ghosh and forward Rakib Hossain at his disposal due to suspension.

But Bruzon is looking at the bright side as he thinks this is an opportunity to give a chance to the others in the squad.

“It’s a beautiful opportunity. I am excited to give a chance to different players. Not only to be part of the XI but improve the level of the team. Every time there is an injury, suspension or problem, I say that we are a brave team and every problem we face is an opportunity to become stronger,” the Bangladesh head coach said.

Bangladesh skipper Jamal Bhuyan said that he did not care about what situation Maldives were in and his only goal was three points from the match.

“It’s an important match for Maldives, but tomorrow, I don’t really care about Maldives. I care about what is important for my team and focus on that. If Maldives lose, they lose. That’s football. They are the home team and they have the crowd with them. But we don’t care about that, we don’t think about it. We just think about getting three points,” the midfielder said.