Bangladesh-Seychelles match postponed

Bangladesh’s match against Seychelles in the four-nation Mahinda Rajapaksha tournament in Sri Lanka was postponed after heavy rain left the Colombo Race Course Stadium unfit for play.

The match, supposed to be held on Monday, will be held today at 4:30 PM instead.

Bangladesh’s remaining matches have also been postponed by a day. The red and greens will now face Maldives on November 12 and host Sri Lanka on November 15.

This will be Bangladesh’s first match after their draw against Nepal in the SAFF Championship, a result that denied them a place in the final.

Seychelles are currently ranked 199 in the FIFA rankings, 12 steps behind Bangladesh. Bangladesh have never faced Seychelles previously, making the match in Sri Lanka a first.

Bangladesh have gone into the tournament with a new coach Mario Lemos after Bangladesh Football Federation failed to hold on to Oscar Bruzon for more than the SAFF Championship.

Bangladesh will be without the services of Tariq Kazi, Bishwanath Ghosh, Biplo Ahmed, Matin Mia and Sohel Rana, who were a crucial part of the Bangladesh set-up in the SAFF Championship, in the tournament for various reasons. Bangladesh will also be without first-choice goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico as he was suspended in their final match of the SAFF Championship.

Before their match against Seychelles, Bangladesh head coach Lemos insisted on getting off to a good start.

“All the players are fit for the match. We are facing an opposition from a different region. We are looking forward to the match. It’s important to start the tournament with a good result. We are looking forward to playing tomorrow and playing good football,” Lemos said in the pre-match press conference on Sunday.