Bangladesh football team forward Rakib Hossain said the change in style of play made his side more aggressive up front that earned them a dominating win over the Maldives in the SAFF Bangabandhu Championship 2023 at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, India Sunday.
“We used to play with long balls before but now we are doing more passing and build-up. The whole team have changed from the past. We are attacking more and that is why we won 3-1,” said Rakib after the match.
Rakib did not start against Lebanon in the first game after just recovering from an injury and featured in the second half.
Javier Cabrera fielded him on the left wing from the beginning against the Maldives but Rakib again suffered an injury to leave the pitch in the 64th minute.
But the 24-year old Bashundhara Kings winger was a delighted man after his second international goal helped Bangladesh cancel the Maldives' lead just before the break.
“I'm really feeling great. I had international goal before but this is my first goal in the SAFF Championship. The delight has doubled because we also won,” he said.
Bangladesh will face Bhutan this Wednesday in the final group round fixture and Rakib wants to keep his feet on the ground and carry on the momentum.
He said, “We don't want to celebrate this win because the next game is very important. We want to win it. We need more support from Bangladesh fans so that we can do well.”