In yesterday’s SAFF Championship match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Bangladesh’s head coach Javier Cabrera was disheartened by his team’s loss of 2-0 to Lebanon, but he expressed pleasure in the fight that his players put up against a far more talented opponent. The match was part of the tournament.
“It is disheartening to not even receive a single point. We had it coming to us. I believe that we were really close to scoring three points. After the game, a disappointed Cabrera remarked, “We were very confident from the beginning, and the feeling and atmosphere in the team was that we were going to achieve something today.”
“Nevertheless, I am pleased with how things turned out. It was really optimistic in the sense that if we are able to equal that level in the next two games, we will surely have a chance to qualify [for the semifinals],” the 38-year-old added. “If we are able to match that level in the next two games, we will definitely have a chance to qualify.”
“The manner in which we allowed goals is irrelevant to the discussion. The important thing is that we let other teams score and were unable to earn any points. Forget about it for the time being, and if everyone keeps the same mindset and the same faith, we will win the next match.
The Spaniard continued by saying, “The game went just as planned. We were aware that the beginning would be difficult for us, but we were also aware that things will eventually normalize. We were in command of the game and had several opportunities to make a comeback. We even had a shot at making it 1-0 in our favor. In the end, they had a lot of extremely talented individual players who all performed to the best of their abilities.
In continuation of his discussion on the errors committed by the defenders and the opportunities squandered by Fahim, Cabrera stated, “All mistakes are mistakes, and all successes are successes.”
The defense was flawless for the entirety of the game, which was played against a formidable opponent that pressed, crossed, and had players that made things difficult in the box. We have accepted defeat, but you are referring to a team that is ranked in the top one hundred in the FIFA World Rankings.
It is nothing unusual. Because they have such a powerful squad, we had no doubt that it would take place. The presence of Hassan Maatouk in particular brought about an increase in the number of difficulties. We had an opportunity to put an end to the contest, but we were unable to do so.
Cabrera’s opponent, Aleksandar Ilic, was pleased with the outcome of the match.
“It is imperative that we be pleased with the outcome. According to Ilic’s assessment, “it was very difficult for us because I gave chances to players who had not played before, but we made changes in the second half and that changed the scenario.”
The head coach of Lebanon’s national team gave this response in response to a question: “Yes, it is a significant difference in terms of rankings, but it was difficult because our approaches to footballing are different.” The defense of Bangladesh was really strong, and as a result, we did not have many opportunities in the first half. But things turned around for us in the second half, and we were able to score.