AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers: Bangladesh conclude mission against Sri Lanka Wednesday

A spirited Bangladesh will conclude their AFC U-19 Championship 2018 Qualifiers campaign Wednesday when they take on south Asian counterpart Sri Lanka in their last Group B match at Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan at 3pm, Bangladesh standard time. Bangladesh have been putting up one solid display after another in the qualifiers so far where they have conceded only one goal out of three games against the likes of favourite Uzbekistan, host Tajikistan and Maldives. The circumstances and the team’s confidence have placed Mahbub Hossain Roksy's side as favourite ahead of their final clash. After Tajikistan outplayed Maldives 5-0 in their third group match Monday, Bangladesh's hope of finishing among the top two in the group almost faded away. They have to beat Sri Lanka with a big margin and also hope for Tajikistan to lose heavily against Uzbekistan in Wednesday's other game.

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Also read: Heartbreak for Bangladesh U19s

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Bangladesh are currently third with four points, three less than second-placed Tajikistan but a superior goal difference means Tajikistan are in a strong position to finish above Bangladesh. The goal difference between the two sides is currently 11. Table-topper Uzbekistan have won all their three matches scoring 17 goals so far without conceding. Bangladesh kept their defence solid but managed to score only one goal in three matches. The 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams advance to the finals alongside host Indonesia. "After the Uzbekistan game, everybody is in a good spirit and have more confidence now. So we will try our best to play against Sri Lanka, win the match and achieve full points. We had very bad luck because we lost the match against Uzbekistan. I can honestly say Bangladesh football is improving day by day," said Roksy. "The way we have played so far has been tremendous. [Tuesday] AFC and Tajikistan Football Federation delegates came to meet me us and expressed great admiration about our football development," said team manager Amirul Islam Babu.