Optimistically up against it
Bangladesh drew a lot of praise as they played above their usual standards in the FIFA World Cup Qualifying home tie against Qatar last year. But ahead of today's reverse fixture, the discussion has been confined to the expected margin of defeat instead of a repeat of the home performance at the Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
The main reason behind the lack of belief is the long layoff that the players had to endure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which kept the Bangladesh players confined to their homes before they started training together in the latter part of October.
Five weeks of preparation, including four warm-up matches, is far from an ideal way to gear up for the clash, especially as the men in red and green have not been playing domestically. Qatar, on the other hand, have found plenty of time to prepare for the resumption of the Asia's World Cup qualifiers after its suspension in mid-March.
The hosts have played five international friendlies in preparation and have also been playing domestic football. A year ago, the Asian champions played on a rain-soaked Bangabandhu National Stadium but this time, they have the edge on a fast-paced pitch that suits their style and the backing of the home crowd.
However, Bangladesh are thinking positively and have prepared as well as possible to face the challenge against Qatar, who are ranked 56th in the FIFA Rankings, 125 places ahead of Bangladesh.
"We know it is going to be very challenging but we are mentally ready after preparing ourselves. We are in better shape physically than we were for the Nepal ties, but we lack match fitness," goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana told The Daily Star from Doha.
Qatar showed their potency with 26 shots on target in a goalless draw against India last year but goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stood tall and thwart their efforts.
Bangladesh are also expected to adopt a defensive approach and Rana believes the duty to stop them is collective and not dependent on the man between the sticks.
"We must have big respect for the Asian champions. We aren't even daring to dream of playing a 50-50 match against them but we will definitely try to defend first. Not only the backline, the midfield will have to work hard. We don't want to concede in the first half. After stopping them, we will be try to hit them on break," added the Sheikh Russel goalkeeper.
Rana also admitted that Qater failed put up their usual performance in Dhaka and that they expected them to come out firing.
Bangladesh are used to playing counter-attacking football under British coach Jamie Day, who is likely to stay in dugout following his recover from Covid-19. The coach also hinted that counters would be the order of the day.
"It's going to be an extremely tough match but one we look forward to. Hopefully we can perform to the best of our abilities and make everyone in Bangladesh really proud. We know Qatar are the best team in Asia and should win. But for us it's about making sure we put in a good performance, make it difficult for them to get the result that they should get. You never know in football. We could get that one chance and take it," Day said.