Bangladesh beat Lebanon earlier and that was in the World Cup qualifying match. It is natural to aim to beat a team that is not invincible. Bangladesh will enter the field today (Tuesday) at 10 pm with that goal in mind.
Bangladesh will play against Lebanon in the last match of the second round of World Cup qualifiers in Doha, Qatar. The match was supposed to be played in Lebanon, but due to the ongoing bloody war between Israel and Hamas, Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium was chosen as a neutral venue. The neutral venue is somewhat of a relief for Bangladesh.
The confidence of Cabrera’s disciples has increased after they stopped Australia by 2 goals in Dhaka on June 6. Earlier, in the second match of the qualifiers, Bangladesh drew to win against Lebanon at home. The results of these two matches are giving Bangladesh the courage to play fiercely.
Bangladesh has already been eliminated from the World Cup qualifying race. Now the Asian Cup qualifiers will depend on the results of this match. Coach Cabrera will play Jamal Bhuiyan with the strategy to win the match. So the coach went to Qatar a little earlier and changed the practice.
Bangladesh had to work more on defense in the match played in Dhaka against Australia. But Bangladesh will play for full 3 points against Lebanon.
In this regard, captain Jamal Bhuiyan said, ‘The strategy of the match with Australia was the same. And Lebanon is a completely different team. We will go to the field to win with Lebanon. Everyone in the team believes that we can get 3 points against Lebanon.
Looking ahead to this match, the Bangladesh captain also sees some weaknesses in Lebanon.
Regarding the weakness of the opposing team, Jamal said, ‘Lebanon has changed three coaches in the last year. I think this is their biggest weakness. A change of coach means the team will be in disarray. We also discussed their strengths and weaknesses.
Coach Javier Cabrera is also eyeing the victory. This Australian coach of Bangladesh said, ‘We are playing this match after the fight against strong Australia. Hope to play well. We want to finish our final group game in the World Cup qualifiers on a positive note. I will play the match for 3 points. Even if I don’t win, I will play with the aim of making the match a draw.’
It is important to win this match to get a good group in the qualifiers of the Asian Cup. Kabrera said, ‘We want to win this match. Not only to get 3 points, but a win in this match can give us a good position in the draw for the Asian Cup qualifiers.’
RI/MH/GKS
