Bangladesh lost in their first two games of 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification to be eliminated from the tournament but they will be eager to finish the tournament on a high when they meet Sri Lanka in their last match on Tuesday at Khalifa Sports City Stadium, Isa Town, Bahrain.
The match will kick off at 7 pm Bangladesh time.
Bangladesh lost both matches with the slender 1-0 margin but their show against a much higher ranked sides Bahrain and Palestine earned plaudits.
Under the guidance of their British coach Jamie Day the men in red and green have shown tremendous resilience and tremendous amount of stamina as they stayed upright for the whole ninety minutes on each occasion.
Day thought his charges will keep up their good performance and clinch a victory against Sri Lanka, who received two 9-0 defeats in their previous matches, to finish with their heads high.
#Bangladesh show determination again https://t.co/jZJ0f2Bkmg
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) March 24, 2019
“We would like to finish with a win. The boys deserve to win. We will try to win the game. We have not won any game here. It will be very good if we get a win. But we have played very well in the first two games. We want another good performance and finish on a high,” said Day to journalists ahead of the match on Monday.
The coach did not opt for rigorous training as Bangladesh players only went through a recovery session along with a pool and gym session ahead of the match but the 39-year old, who seems to be lifting the tempo of the side, praised the players for their effort. He also thought their 10-day camp at Qatar before the tournament also helped them with their preparation.
“Obviously, the camp was useful but they did well because they were determined. Credit to the boys, they listened to me. They learned and carried out the instructions. The effort and work rate was fantastic,” Day added.
Despite all the admiration, the coach was a bit disappointed with lack of goal scoring. Bangladesh dominated the second-half against Palestine on Sunday but they missed a few chances including an open net. The coach was focusing on the issue and urged his players to go for a win.
“Perhaps with better finishing we would get much better results in the last two matches. But we will go for a win today,” concluded Day.