Nothing but a win will quench the thirst of Bangladesh who will be fighting for their existence in the AFC Under-19 Championships against Uzbekistan. The outcome of the last Group A qualifying game will determine which team will progress through to the final round and as things stand, the hosts are not in a comfortable position.
With one win and a draw, Bangladesh sit behind the Uzbeks with four points while the latter have full six points in their bag. According to the rules, apart from the 10 group champions, five best runner-up teams will also get the ticket to Bahrain next year. And given Bangladesh's standings, a draw will not be enough to carry them through as five teams have already bagged six points from two games.
Prior the start of the qualifiers, Bangladesh coach Saiful Bari Titu expressed his desire to win against Sri Lanka and Bhutan and draw against Uzbekistan. However, they now have to focus in only a win at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today at 6pm.
Uzbekistan put 10 goals in the two matches so far and are comfortable sitting at the top with six points. “Uzbekistan are tactically and technically a better side than us and realistically it is difficult to get away with a win against them but anything can happen in football. I'm trying to boost the players mentally after what happened against Bhutan. We want to bring out our best,” said Bangladesh head coach Titu ahead of their must-win encounter.
