Bangladesh, the second-lowest rated team in the competition, will commence their SAFF Championship campaign today in Bengaluru against Lebanon, the highest ranked team, in hopes of securing at least one point from the opening Group B match.
The championship kicked off yesterday with Kuwait’s 3-1 victory over last year’s runner-up Nepal in the opening game of Group A. Today, the action shifts to Group B with Bangladesh and Lebanon facing off at 4:00pm, followed by Maldives and Bhutan later in the day at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Bangladesh, the 2003 champions, have failed to advance past the group stage in the previous five tournaments. However, after defeating Cambodia 1-0 in a friendly last week, Javier Cabrera and his squad are optimistic about giving the 99th-ranked Lebanon a run for its money.
“We have had excellent preparation, practice, and sustenance. We have our final exam tomorrow, and we want to pass,” Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuiyan told reporters yesterday following practice.
Utilizing the opponent’s exhaustion, the veteran midfielder believed that Bangladesh could still pull off an upset against the team from West Asia despite their lower classification.
“Lebanon is a formidable opponent, as they are more than 90 places ahead of us in the FIFA Rankings.” Our objective is to win, but we will be satisfied with one point,” said Jamal. They have played four contests in the previous twelve days. Therefore, they will be somewhat fatigued, giving us a slight advantage.”
Despite being one of the pre-event favorites, Lebanon have recently been unable to perform at their best. They finished second to India in last week’s Intercontinental Cup, losing in the final to the hosts after tying with them and Mongolia in the group stage. Their sole victory came in their inaugural match against Vanuatu.
Bhutan’s primary objective, according to coach Aleksandar Ilic in a pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday, was to acquire experience by competing against obscure opponents.
“As a new team in this tournament, we would like to acquire expertise by competing against these opponents. Our mission here is to get experience. We also want to determine how we must proceed and what must be altered, the Serbian said.
In addition to Lebanon’s dismal performance, history will inspire Bangladesh today. They have an identical head-to-head record, having met twice in 2011 during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Lebanon defeated Bangladesh 4-0 at home before losing 2-0 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
Although Bangladesh coach Cabrera does not place much stock in the 10-year-old result, he was adamant that his team could put up a challenge.
The Spaniard stated, “We have no doubts about what we want to do, and we can guarantee that we will compete at 100%.” “Of course Lebanon is a very strong team, and they will do their best to earn all three points, but we are definitely prepared to battle for at least one point.”