**We worked on how we can stop Qatar and possibly try to capitalise on their weaknesses over the last seven days. Every team wants to win and we also want to win the game. Qatar will be expecting to win but for me, as long as my boys do their best and perform to the level we have shown, I can't ask for anything more. If we get a little bit of luck as well, then you never know.
JAMIE DAY
BANGLADESH COACH
While a draw against the reigning Asian champions may be deemed as good as a win for Bangladesh, coach Jamie Day was still aiming for a win over a strong Qatar in today's 2022 World Cup Qualifier match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
The action will kick off at 7:00pm with BTV and Bangla TV carrying the live telecast of the match.
Qatar - sitting 125 places higher than 187-ranked Bangladesh in the FIFA rankings — are well and truly ahead of Bangladesh in terms of skill, technique and tactics. In that context, matching or bettering Qatar today seems like a pipedream but Day still retained the belief that it was possible.
"We worked on how we can stop Qatar and possibly try to capitalise on their weaknesses over the last seven days. Every team wants to win and we also want to win the game. Qatar will be expecting to win but for me, as long as my boys do their best and perform to the level we have shown, I can't ask for anything more. If we get a little bit of luck as well, then you never know," said Day at the pre-match press conference at the BFF house yesterday.
Qatar, the host nation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, endured a frustrating goalless draw against India last month but rediscovered their groove in a 6-0 thrashing of Afghanistan, who had beaten Bangladesh 1-0 last month. "They [Qatar] have fantastic players, fantastic facilities. They are preparing to play Argentina, Brazil and England, so realistically they should be beating Bangladesh. In football there are always surprise results. We have to play extremely well, better than we have performed recently.”
Bangladesh are coming off 10 days of training and two confidence-boosting wins in friendly matches against Bhutan. However, there can be little doubt that the odds will be stacked against the men in red and green today and even a 100 per cent performance may not be enough to avoid a chastening defeat, let alone deliver a win or draw.
Making the task harder, injury woes and
suspensions mean that Bangladesh's British coach will not be able to field his best eleven.
The backline is believed to be the most vulnerable following injury to Tutul Hossain Badsha and the suspension of Bishwanath Ghosh. Young Riyadul Hasan and Raihan Hasan are likely to replace them, with centre-back Badsha also available for selection according to Day.
Brave face in front of the media notwithstanding, Day is very likely to park the bus in front of their own goal. Captain Jamal Bhuiyan also thought that there would be no alternative to defending well.
"They are the number one team in Asia. Tomorrow's [Thursday's] match will be much harder. We will not have so many chances but we have to take the ones we get; otherwise they will punish us. We have to be better in front of goal," said Jamal, who helped Bangladesh U-23 beat Qatar 1-0 in the Asian Games last year and was seeking inspiration from India's goalless draw against Qatar.
Against big teams Bangladesh have usually aimed to avoid humiliation or keep the margin respectable, but Jamal believed that things have changed markedly under Day.
"The team is now more organised and does not concede many goals under Day. We now have a group of players who are more disciplined," said Jamal.
In previous encounters, Bangladesh held Qatar 1-1 and lost 0-4 in the Asian Nations Cup Qualifiers in 1979 before conceding two more defeats (1-4 and 0-3) in the 2006 competition.