Bangladesh consent to play WC qualifiers at Qatar in Dec
Bangladesh decided to play their lone away match of joint qualifiers round two for FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 on December 4 at Qatar, confirmed Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) General Secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag on Monday.
The host of World Cup 2022 Qatar proposed BFF two dates namely December 1 and December 4, for the match last week. Bangladesh opted for December 4. The match is likely to be held at Doha.
“We initially decided to play world cup qualifiers with them (Qatar). The other day they proposed two dates namely December 1 and December 4, to play in Doha and we opted for December 4. We are waiting for the final decision from FIFA this week. BFF is maintaining contact with Qatar FA. The next steps will be studied after obtaining the permission,” Shohag told the reporters.
Bangladesh were devote group E along with five teams namely Asian powerhouse Qatar, neighbours India and two other strong opponents, Oman and Afghanistan. In the second-leg matches, the men in red and green were likely to play home matches against Afghanistan, India and Oman on October 8, November 12 and 17 respectively and also to play the lone away match against Qatar on October 13.
AFC, with permission of FIFA, postponed the schedule until 2021 because of travel restrictions of different countries in the wake of COVID-19 last August. But they added that the participating nations can play their respective matches with mutual consent. Qatar took the chance and sent proposals to opponent nations.
However, Bangladesh conceded a 0-2 defeat against Qatar in the first-leg home match this past year. In other matches, the men in red and green conceded a 0-1 defeat against Afghanistan in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, conceded a 1-4 goals defeat against Oman in Al Seeb city of Oman, but played out a 1-1 goal draw against India in Kolkata.
Bangladesh are actually taking preparations because of their upcoming two-match FIFA tier-1 international friendly series against Nepal, scheduled to be held at Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) in the capital on November 13 and November 17 respectively. National team head coach Jamie Day said they are not concerned about the Qatar game at this moment.
“We are not thinking about the Qatar game. It’s not been confirmed yet. There were discussions in place but the primary focus is merely to play the games against Nepal. They are the most crucial games right now. If the Qatar game goes ahead, then obviously, that is a good preparation which we'd,” said Jamie following the training session at BNS on Monday.
“Qatar would play anyway so that’s not really a headache. We played against Qatar inside our home match. It could be a hardcore game. So if we be a part of it, we should be at our best. We have got enough time to practice and hopefully we are certain to get some games in before that match and get prepared,” the coach added.
