Home ›› 27 Sep 2022 ›› Sport
Following their first win in seven games, a confident Bangladesh national football team will look to bank on their momentum as they face 176-ranked Nepal in a FIFA friendly at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal on Tuesday.
Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera broke the jinx and pocketed his first win at the helm as the men in red and green beat 174-ranked Cambodia 1-0 on Thursday.
In 23 previous meetings, Bangladesh, ranked 192, got the upper hand over Nepal on 13 occasions, losing seven times and drawing on three occasions.
Despite the better results, Bangladesh wouldn’t take much confidence from their records as they have failed to register a win against Nepal in their last three encounters, including a 2-1 loss in the Three Nations Cup final last year.
But the victory against Cambodia came as a boost for the men in red and green as Cabrera said they are looking to win their second match on the trot.
“To win against Cambodia was a big boost for us. Here, the focus was more on recovery for the
players after our huge fight against Cambodia. The atmosphere is positive. The group is confident. They are working really hard to play tomorrow and to win the game,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Monday.
“We are here to fight tomorrow. We know it’s going to be a battle from the first minute. They are going to come with everything and it’s our responsibility to manage that and to beat them,” he added.
Bangladesh skipper Jamal Bhuyan assured that the players are ready for the match but he also expressed caution as he said he would respect the home town.
“The group has good confidence. We are ready for tomorrow but we also know that it’s Nepal’s home ground and we have to respect the home team. We want to be competitive tomorrow and fight for each ball,” he said.
“For any team, winning brings confidence. For us, it was important as we haven’t won for a while. As you can see from the mood in the camp that the confidence has changed,” he added.
Ahead of the tricky fixture, Bangladesh goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico said that they were looking to play attacking football against Nepal.
“Against Nepal, we are going to play attacking football because we are going in for the win. We are all confident,” he said.
