When Bangladesh take on Sri Lanka in today's crucial fixture of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, the habit of collapsing under pressure may come in their way of making it to the last four.

In the last 15 years, Bangladesh buckled under pressure in four major tournaments -the AFC Challenge Cup finals in 2010, the SAFF Championships in 2011 and 2013 and the Asian Games in 2014 - where they needed victories to go to the next stage, but suffered defeats in all four occasions to exit from the group stages.

In the Asian Games in South Korea last year, Bangladesh made a brilliant start by beating Afghanistan 1-0 before losing to Uzbekistan 0-3, leaving them with a must-win situation in group's last match against Hong Kong. However, they lost the match 1-2 and spurned the chance of qualifying for the second round for the first time.

The same group of booters also disappointed in the 2013 SAFF Championship in Nepal where they had a bad start losing against Nepal 0-1 before holding India to a 1-1 draw to keep semifinal hopes alive. However, despite taking the lead against Pakistan in the next match, they conceded a 1 -2 defeat to exit from the group stages.

Two years earlier in the same tournament in India, Bangladesh had endured the same fate as they suffered a 1-3 defeat against Maldives in the last group match to be eliminated.

The predecessors of these booters were not too exceptional when it came to buckling under pressure. After a historic 2-1 win over Tajikistan, Bangladesh needed a victory in their third and last match to ensure the semifinals of the AFC Challenge Cup finals. But they conceded a 0-3 defeat to Sri Lanka, the opponents of today's match, to spurn a glorious opportunity.

However, there is one instance from which today's booters can take heart. The likes of Jewel Rana, Arman Mia, Masud Rana and Alfaz Ahmed overcame such pressure situation to beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in the last group match of 1999 SAF Games before clinching the title by beating Nepal 1-0 in final.

Sheikh Jamal DC coach Maruftil Haque is hopeful that the Bangladesh team, most of whom he had coached at club level, overcome the pressure.

"I saw matches of both teams. I think Bangladesh can post a win over Sri Lanka if they can play their natural game. However, they must hold their nerve at all times," opined Maruftil.