After suffering a loss to Lebanon by a score of 2-0, Bangladesh are in a precarious position once again in the SAFF Championship.
They are aware that if they do not win their match against Maldives at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru today, they will be on the verge of being eliminated from the competition in the group stage for the sixth consecutive year.
The first ball will be struck at that time.
Although Bangladesh is aware that they have no choice but to beat Maldives, who got off to a strong start by beating Bhutan 2-0, they will need to overcome three significant worries in order to do so. These issues include their lack of goal threat, their tendency to concede late goals, and their fragility when faced with high levels of pressure.
The fact that they are unable to score goals has been a problem for a very long time. Since the Tri-nation Cup that was held in Nepal in 2021, Bangladesh has only managed to score a total of 14 goals in their past 20 international matches. It’s interesting to note that within that time period, defenders have scored more goals than forwards have.
The fact that we keep giving up goals in the nick of time is another major cause for worry, and it came to the forefront when the guys who play in red and green let up two goals in the last seconds of our match against Lebanon, despite having played valiantly.
Another significant concern for Bangladesh heading into this encounter would be the team’s propensity to struggle to perform under pressure. Only twice out of Bangladesh’s total of eight opportunities to avoid elimination from the SAFF Championship thanks to a favourable outcome were they successful in doing so.
Bangladesh began their campaign in the 1999 SAFF Championship with a goalless draw against India. They required a win in their penultimate encounter to continue, and they did it by convincingly beating Pakistan 4-0. In the competition that took place in 2009, Bangladesh just needed a draw versus Sri Lanka to advance to the semifinals, and they achieved it by claiming a 2-1 victory over the Islanders.
On the other three instances, Bangladesh was eliminated from competition by the Maldives twice (in 2011 and 2015) and Nepal twice (in 2018 and 2021). In 2008 and 2013, Sri Lanka and Pakistan kicked Bangladesh out of their countries.
After winning one of their first two matches in the 2011 SAFF Championship, Bangladesh needed a victory over Maldives in order to qualify for the next round, however they were defeated by a score of 1-3 instead. After suffering a defeat to Afghanistan by a score of 0-4 in 2015, Bangladesh were anxious for a victory and faced the same scenario as they did in 2015. Maldives defeated them with the same scoreline of 3-1.
In the year 2021, Bangladesh appeared to be headed in the right direction after posting a 1-0 victory over Sri Lanka and a 1-1 draw against India. However, their hopes were dashed after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Maldives, and they were ultimately eliminated after giving up a penalty kick in the 88th minute of a 1-1 draw with Nepal in their final group-stage match.
The Maldives will now do their best to ruin Bangladesh’s celebration once again. The only issue that remains is whether or not the guys in red and green can beat the Islanders and live to fight another day. The only way to know is to wait.