Bangladesh face Nepal in 2nd match tomorrow

Dhaka, 8 Sept -Bangladesh take on host Nepal in the ultimate match of two-match FIFA Tier-1 Int’l Friendlies scheduled to be held at Dashrath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal Tuesday evening.

Prior to the second match Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera in a pre match press conference Monday said, the first match was competitive and the team preparing for another fight. It's definitely going to be a very tough and challenging match.

He said “The first match ended in a draw, but we want to win the second match. If we win, it will be an extra motivation for us for October qualifiers matches against Hong Kong. We have to maintain our performance in this match as before. We’ll take to the field for win.” said the head coach.

However, Bangladesh could not field a full-strength team against Nepal in the first friendly match. Bangladesh missed the service of all of their overseas-based footballers. Shamit Shome had earlier confirmed his unavailability for the matches, while Leicester City midfielder Hamza Dewan Choudhury suffered injury during a Championship League fixture recently, was not included in the Nepal-bound final squad.

While Italy-based Fahamiedul Islam and Bashundhara Kings' new signing Cuba Mitchell are with the under-23 football team for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers engagement in Vietnam.

Bangladesh have two crucial matches in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Hong Kong in October. After making drawing against India   in the Asian Cup qualification, Bangladesh lost to Singapore. So the remaining matches of the qualifiers are very important for Bangladesh. Cabrera's goal is now to boost the players' confidence level by achieving a good result against Nepal before the Hong Kong matches in October.

While following a goalless draw with Bangladesh in the first friendly match, Nepal extended their winless run in four games, but now they must be aiming to return winning streak.

Meanwhile, a Bangladesh Football Federation press release added that, Bangladesh team's practice session, which was scheduled to be held at the match venue ahead of the second match, was postponed due to unavoidable reason. The team however completed indoor session in the afternoon.

Bangladesh squad:

Sujon Hossain, Mehedi Hasan, Rahmat Mia, Topu Barman, Mohammad Ridoy, Jamal Bhuyan, Md Taj Uddin, Arif Hossain, Md Sahriar Emon, Rakib Hossain, Md Foysal Ahmed Fahim, Md Abdullah Omar, Mitul Marma, Tariq Kazi, Papon Singh, Md Sohel Rana, Sohel Rana, Md Isa Faysal, Mohammad Ibrahim, Sumon Reza, Syed Shah Quazem Kirmanee, Md Saad Uddin and Pappu Hossain.BSS