Jamal wants Bangladesh to prioritise the 'build-up game' 

Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan believes Bangladesh need to play the build-up game from the back in order to mitigate the fatigue that comes with defending against stronger opponents throughout the majority of the match. 

Bangladesh have usually embraced the strategy to play on the counter and hit opponents on the break, especially against superior counterparts but the men in red and green have rarely succeeded with such a strategy owing to a lack of clinical finishers upfront and of course, losing focus at the back. 

"We have to be more confident with the ball. I think we have to build the game from behind because if we only play on the counter, then the players will get tired after 60 and 70 minutes. So, I think we have to hold the ball in the match to create more chances," said Jamal after Friday's training session.

"We know Maldives have quality forwards, so we said that we have to rectify our mistakes. However, the positive side is that we have created chances against Lebanon and it is not that only the forwards will score goals. Everyone has to come forward to score goals, so there is no benefit to only blame the forwards. We will lose together, we will win together," the 33-year-old said.

It was seen on Thursday in the SAFF Championship encounter against Lebanon where Bangladesh had a good opportunity to cash in on the counter with a few opportunities but winger Faisal Ahmed Fahim squandered a chance in a one-on-one situation before Jamal Bhuiyan's men lost the concentration in the dying moments of the match as they conceded two goals.

Bangladesh had put up a decent fight against a much superior Lebanon but lost the plot in the last 12 minutes of the match largely owing to defensive blunders by individuals.

Jamal said that he wanted to forget the last 10 to 15 minutes of Thursday's match against Lebanon and looked to focus on the next match against the Maldives, who stand at an advantage as they won their first match in a 2-0 victory over Bhutan.

"We all are disappointed with the result despite playing a good match against Lebanon because we repeated the history (of making mistakes). We lost concentration in the last 10 to 15 minutes which caused us to concede two goals but we want to forget what happened. Now, we are thinking of the Maldives match which we before termed the final match for us," Jamal said.

Midfielder Sohel Rana also echoed the same sentiments terming the match against the Maldives as the final game.

"We are looking forward to learning from the previous match and focus on the next because it is now the final match for us and we want to win it at any cost if we want to stay in the race," said Sohel Rana.

"Those who are in the squad want to give the best and I also want to support my team by doing something better. Every player is really confident to produce a good result against Maldives," he added.