Bangladesh national football team coach Javier Cabrera believes that his side can give a tough fight against hosts Nepal, without Hamza Choudhury, in the two-match FIFA international friendlies at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.
The first friendly match is scheduled to kick off at 5:45pm (Bangladesh Standard Time) today, while the second will take place on Tuesday.
Spanish coach Cabrera鈥檚 charges are playing the matches against Nepal as part of their preparation for the October鈥檚 two matches against Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers.
Bangladesh will be missing four of their foreign-based footballers 鈥� Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome, Fahamedul Islam, and Cuba Mitchell 鈥� but Cabrera remained confident in achieving their goals against Nepal.
聽鈥榃e are not concerned with which player is in the team 鈥� without Hamza, honestly, we have played well with the same core players since the SAFF Championship in 2023. Our focus is on how we are going to prepare ahead of the matches against Hong Kong in October,鈥� Cabrera stated at the pre-match press conference on Friday.
The coach views both teams as evenly matched and believes that these matches will serve as excellent preparation.
鈥楾he teams (Bangladesh and Nepal) are at very similar levels. I believe it will be a significant challenge to test ourselves, to see where we stand among SAFF countries. These two matches are ideal preparations,鈥� he added.
鈥楶laying in Nepal is always challenging for Bangladesh. My only experience here was in September 2022, when we lost 3-1; it was quite tough. We expect a tough battle this time, and we hope to perform better and present a good show,鈥� the Spaniard responded to a query.
Apart from 3-1 loss in September 2022, Bangladesh could manage a win 2-0 once against Nepal before a goalless draw in friendlies in November 2020. They suffered 2-1 defeat in a match of the Tri-nation Series in March 2021 and played a 1-1 draw in the SAFF Championship in October 2021.
