Bangladesh will enter the field after defeating Lebanon

Bangladesh will face Lebanon in their second match in the ‘I’ group of the second round of World Cup qualifiers. Host team coach Javier Cabrera showed some confidence about the victory as the opponent is very strong but the match will be on their own ground.

The game will start at 6.30 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena on Tuesday. T Sports will telecast the game live. The game can be watched online on T Sports YouTube channel.

Earlier, Jamal Bhuiyan’s team lost by a huge margin of 7-0 to the 27th ranked FIFA ranked Australia in Melbourne, Australia. Although Australia has a huge gap with Bangladesh, which is ranked 183, the gap with Lebanon is not too small. The Middle East team is 79 places ahead of Bangladesh in the ranking. Still, Cabrera is confident of victory.

However, card bans on Rakib Hussain and Saad Uddin may dent the confidence of the host coach. Rakib has been playing regularly in Cabrera’s XI since the beginning. The Spanish coach usually arranges the attack strategy around him. Saad Uddin was also in the rhythm. These two footballers also scored against Maldives. Their absence is seen as a big blow ahead of the match against Lebanon. However, Cabrera believes that there will be no problem if those who are in the team perform their duties properly.

Bangladesh has played three matches against Lebanon so far. Two of which played in the World Cup qualifiers in 2011. The red-green team lost 4-0 to the hosts in the first match held in Lebanon, but returned to Dhaka and defeated them 2-0. Bangladesh’s last match against the Middle East side was in the SAFF Championship last June. In that match Jamal lost 2-0.

In the pre-match press conference, host coach Cabrera said, ‘You know what happened in the match against Australia. I want to forget that day and play a new match on a new day. A few days ago we played against Lebanon. We have an idea about their strengths. I have planned the match by understanding that.’

The gallery is full at the Bashundhara Kings Arena. Mentioning that it will add extra motivation tomorrow, Cabrera said, ‘If there are spectators on the field, the host footballers are excited. At the same time, the opponent is under pressure. And we want to use that opportunity.’