Bangladesh ready for ‘match of the year’

After snatching a draw at stoppage time in the first leg, Bangladesh will now eye a victory over the higher-ranked Maldives in the return leg of their first-round fixture in the FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers today.

The match will kick off at the Bashundhara Kings Arena at 5:45pm, and T Sports will telecast the match live.

A lot is on the line for both teams in the match as a victory will take them to the second round where they will be guaranteed to play six more matches. A defeat, on the other hand, will end their campaign in the World Cup qualifiers.

The first leg in Male on Thursday ended in a thrilling 1-1 draw. Maldives' Hassan Nazeem scored in the 87th minute before Bangladesh's substitute Saad Uddin restored parity in the second minute of the stoppage time.

"This is the moment to show everyone what we have been doing in the last two years, especially in the last year," said Bangladesh coach Jaiver Cabrera at the pre-match conference yesterday.

"We want to show our people and supporters by achieving an important objective. I believe we are capable enough to make it - that is the message to the players," the Spaniard added.

Cabrera, who named an unchanged 23-member squad for the match, praised his team's fight against Maldives in the first leg and is hopeful they could go one step beyond.

"We created chances and also missed them… We are very positive heading into the game. Scoring goals depends on us. We are confident that we are going to do it," Cabrera added.

Captain Jamal Bhuiyan termed the home game as the "match of the year" and said his troops are determined to leave the ground with a victory.

"We have recovered in the last few days. So, we are almost ready for the game. It's a big match for us and [in terms of what is at stake] the final match of the year. We have to win the match anyhow," said Jamal.

Jamal also urged fans to turn up in numbers to support the team in the crucial encounter against a team ranked 34 steps higher than them.

"It is our home ground and we have to take advantage of that. We have to have the support behind us… I think tomorrow, everything will be perfect for the players.

"It is the right setup and it is the final. There will be no excuses, we must have to win," Jamal further said.

However, Maldives coach Ali Suzain said that the pitch condition at the Kings Arena will comparatively favour his team.

"Considering the football condition at Kings Arena, we will have an advantage over Bangladesh because we are a team who keep the ball and play accordingly. This is a better ground than our national stadium and it will help us play passing football."