Bangladesh take on Maldives in search of first win

Bangladesh national football team will take on Maldives today in search of their first win in the four-nation Mahinda Rajapaksha tournament in Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh were off to a bumpy start in the tournament as they drew their first match against Seychelles, a side ranked 12 steps below the red and greens in the FIFA rankings.

Maldives also drew their first match against Sri Lanka where they were 4-0 up at the end of the first half. But the Lankans managed to score four in the second half to deny Maldives a victory.

Bangladesh’s only loss in the SAFF Championship came to Maldives when they lost 2-0.

Ahead of the match, Bangladesh head coach Mario Lemos said that it was easier playing Maldives than Seychelles because they had more information in hand.

“Easier to play against Maldives because we have more information about them, we played against them in the SAFF Championship. We know how they play, how we want to play. We did not have the result we wanted, we want to bounce back and we are completely focusing on the next match,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Friday.

Bangladesh were guilty of missing a plethora of chances against Seychelles, opportunities they rued by the end of the match. Lemos said that they would have to be more efficient in attack against Maldives.

“We had a lot of chances against Seychelles, we won’t have that against Maldives. We will have to be more efficient in the final third. More quality, more speed and more direction,” he said.

Bangladesh skipper Jamal Bhuyan said that he believed both teams will play attacking football.

“It’s not only a vital game for us, but also for Maldives. And so, I think it will be a game where both teams will look to attack,” the midfielder said.