Home ›› 09 Oct 2021 ›› Sport
After succumbing to a 2-0 defeat against hosts Maldives, Bangladesh now face an uphill task to reach their first SAFF Championship final since 2005.
Bangladesh could have set themselves up for the final with a win on Thursday but failed to give Maldives any trouble at all as the hosts were comfortable victors.
Bangladesh still sit second in the points table with four points, but among the other final-aspirants, only they have played three matches and have a negative goal difference.
To qualify for the final, Bangladesh would need a lot of variables to go their way, but first and foremost, they must beat Nepal in their final group stage match on October 13.
A win in that match would leave Bangladesh with seven points, and they will need three other teams finishing with a lower number of points. Sri Lanka have only one point from three games, which leaves them almost destined for the last spot. But it’s the other two that matters.
In the match between India and Nepal on Sunday, a win for India would take them to five points, whereas a Maldives win against Sri Lanka would see the hosts up to six points.
In that case, before the final matchday, Bangladesh will sit fourth with four points, with India at third with five, whereas Nepal and Maldives will be at the top with six points each.
There, the winners of the final two games will reach the final. If Bangladesh manage to beat Nepal, they will have seven points, whereas India will have eight points if they win against Maldives. Whereas otherwise, results will see Nepal and Maldives both have nine points and qualify.
If India lose to Nepal on Sunday, they will be on the brink of being knocked out as they will have only two points from three games. On the other hand, with three wins from three, Nepal will qualify for the final.
For the time being, Bangladesh have nothing to do as Oscar Bruzon’s men don’t have a match in the upcoming matchday on Sunday.
The players did a gym session on Friday before completing a 30-minute-long swimming session afterwards. There will also be no training sessions on Saturday as the players will rest.
On Friday, Bangladesh defender Rahmat Miah narrowed down their reason for defeat to fatigue as the red and greens had to play three games within seven days, whereas Maldives had five days of rest before the match.
“We did not put too much pressure on ourselves. The main problem was that we played three matches within seven days, and Maldives were fresh from the rest they got. So, a lot of us who played all three games were fatigued. So, I think that’s the reason why our performance went a little downhill yesterday (Thursday). We will overcome this in the next match,” Rahmat told the reporters.
Rahmat explained further that it was not slow football like the Bangladesh Premier League that they could cope up despite playing so many matches in such a short time.
“It is very difficult to play three international matches within seven days. It’s not like the slow football we see in BPL. It’s tougher. We went on with our usual plan of taking over the midfield and then attack, but somehow we conceded,” the Bangladesh defender said.
For now, Bangladesh have nothing to do but rest and prepare for their clash against Nepal and hope for favourable results on Sunday. Because if not, Bangladesh’s mission impossible could end even before it kicks off.
