It took Maldives 15 years to finally beat Bangladesh ever since the 5-0 drubbing in their debut match against the Men in Red and Green in 1984, whereas the Islanders had flipped the script to initiate a decade-long winning streak of their own since the 2011 edition of SAFF Championships. However, it all ended with a 2-1 defeat to Bangladesh in the ongoing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy in Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Newly appointed interim head coach Mario Lemos revealed a 24-member preliminary squad of Bangladesh football team for next month’s Four Nations invitational tournament in Sri Lanka yesterday.
India once again proved too strong for their neighbours, securing an eighth SAFF Championship crown by beating Nepal 3-0 in the final of the 13th edition of the regional football extravaganza at the National Football Stadium in Male yesterday.
As the 13th edition of the South Asian football extravaganza concluded last night in Male, Bangladesh’s football fraternity should buckle up to thoroughly reflect on what transpired in the latest SAFF Championship for the country who last featured in the final of the prestigious tournament 16 long years ago.
The curtain of the 13th SAFF Championship draws to a close today after the seven-time champions India take on debutant finalist Nepal in the closing match of the regional football extravaganza at Maldives’ National Football Stadium in Male.
“We had been waiting for this moment for the last 16 years but you killed our dream,” Tapu Barman shouted towards Uzbek referee Akhrol Riskullaev soon after Bangladesh’s encounter against Nepal, as well as their SAFF Championship campaign, drew to a close on Wednesday at Maldives National Football Stadium in Male.
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri broke legendary footballer Pele’s record during their semifinal match of the SAFF Championship against Maldives on Wednesday.
For someone who had just tuned in yesterday to watch the ongoing SAFF Championship’s virtual semi-final match between Bangladesh and Nepal at the dying seconds of the 78thminute, the move from the left that resulted in the sending off of goalkeeperAnisur Rahman Zico would seem like a great through-ball created by the Himalayan nation behind Bangladesh's defensive high-line . Although in reality, it was Rakib Hossain, whose atrocious back-pass towards the direction of his central defenders had Bangladesh on a slippery slope from then on at Maldives National Stadium in Male.
Sports lovers across South Asia and beyond will have a feast of football to devour upon over the next sixteen days as five nations of the region renew their rivalry for regional supremacy in the Maldivian capital Male today.
A revitalised Bangladesh are set to begin their SAFF Championship campaign with hopes of a winning start in their opening match against a new-look new-look Sri Lanka at the National Football Stadium in Male today.
The timings of the opening day fixtures of the SAFF Championship have been changed. Bangladesh will now play the opener against Sri Lanka at the National Football Stadium in the Maldives tomorrow. The match will now begin at 5:00pm (BST) instead of 10:00pm (BST).
Bangladesh had their first training session in the Maldives yesterday ahead of the SAFF Championship after the squad returned negative Covid-19 tests.
