The Bangladesh National Football Team need to win in second match against visiting Maldives that will take place at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka on Tuesday next.
The national football team returned home on Friday evening from Maldives playing in the Asian Qualification Round -1 match of the FIFA World Cup' 2026 at the National Stadium in Male on Thursday last. Jamal Bhuyan and CO drew 1-1 with host Maldives. The men in Red and Green have a fair chance to qualify for the group stage beating the Maldives in the home match.
A dramatic goal by winger M Saad Uddin scored in injury time (92 minutes) guided Bangladesh to stay in the race in the Asian Qualification Round -1 match of the FIFA World Cup' 2026.
Maldives striker Hassan Nazeem put the host Maldives ahead in the 87th minute by a placing shot, utilizing a lapse of Bangladesh defender Tariq Kazi, brightening their chance to qualify for the next round of the World Cup.
Earlier, Foysal Ahmed Fahim of Bangladesh spoiled the golden opportunity to score in the 40th minute of the match as he failed to score with nice gap from the danger zone.
Later, Rakib Hossain also missed a good chance.
Earlier, Bangladesh and Maldives faced each other on 16 times since 1984 where Bangladesh won seven matches against the Maldives six win. The rest three matches ended in draw
In the last meeting, Bangladesh beat the Maldives by 3-1 goals in the last SAFF Championship held in the Indian city of Bengaluru in June this year. Bangladesh never beat their upper ranked Maldives on their home soil in the last 23 years since 2000 when they played 1-1 draw with the Maldives in the Golden Jubilee Tournament in Male.
Bangladesh suffered four consecutive defeats against the Maldives from December 2011 to October 2021, before beating the Maldives by 2-1 goals in the MahindaRajapaksa Cup Football in Colombo in November 2021.
Bangladesh suffered their biggest 0-5 goals defeat against the Maldives in the FIFA International Friendly Football in 2016 and conceded 0-2 goals defeat each in the SAFF Championship in 2021 and in an friendly match in 2022, all in Male
However, the recent performance of Bangladesh is encouraging as they won two matches in last four meetings against the Maldives since 2021, featuring a 3-1 victory in the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru last June.
Bangladesh team is badly needed win in the two-match home and away series against the Maldives, not only to reach the group stage of the FIFA World Cup'2026, but also to avoid possible ban that deprived Bangladesh to play any FIFA/AFC international matches for about one year.
Earlier, Bangladesh were also deprived of playing international football matches for one and half year after losing to Bhutan by 1-3 goals in their return-leg play-off match of the AFC Asian Cup in Thimphu in 2016.
Despite the absence of three vital players -- number one goal keeper Anisur Rahman Zico, reliable defender Topu Barman and promising striker ShekhMorsalin for club suspension, Bangladesh team fought hard with the hosts and settled for 1-1 draw.
