Bangladesh take on Cambodia today

Bangladesh national football team is set to take on Cambodia in a FIFA International friendly at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia today.

While 174th-ranked Cambodia sit 18 places above Bangladesh in FIFA rankings, the men in red and green will take confidence as they’ve never lost against Wednesday’s hosts.

In four previous meetings, Bangladesh have come out on top on three occasions, and drew one, with the latest win coming in March 2019, when Jamal Bhuyan’s men clinched the game 1-0 away from home.

Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera is still yet to pocket his first win as coach. The Spaniard, who was appointed in January 2022, has taken charge in six games so far, in which time he has lost four and drew two. It is no doubt that his major concern would be on scoring goals as his troops in those six matches have only been able to find the net on two occasions.

Despite the disparity in rankings, Jamal believes that Cambodia is not too far away from Bangladesh in terms of ability. The midfielder assured that they have worked on their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and expected an even contest.

“Cambodia is a very brave team and play brave football. But we played against them recently. We know their strength and weakness. For us, it’s a good match to compete against a team which is similar to our team. They are not that far from us. They are higher in the rankings but I think tomorrow’s match will be a 50/50,” he said.

“I think tomorrow’s game will be about taking chances. If we get a chance, we have to score. They have this spirit, and if they get a little bit of luck in their play, then all of them can gain a lot of confidence. We have to break that,” he added.

Bangladesh’s dismal run includes only one win in their last fifteen international matches since June 2021. After a string of poor results, skipper Jamal said that it’s going to be a big match for them as they will get to showcase the improvements they’ve made in training.

“It’s an important game for us. We are all looking forward to this game. It’s a good time for us to show what we have done in the previous weeks. It’s a very big match, and we want to win. Of course, we respect Cambodia but we have one target that is to win the match,” the 32-year-old said in the pre-match press conference.

Following their encounter against Cambodia, Bangladesh will travel to Nepal, where they will face the hosts in a friendly at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Tuesday.