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Bangladesh will meet the Maldives in the first of two FIFA international friendly series at the Bashundhara Kings Arena today, hoping to improve their international rankings.

A series win over the Maldives would also help Javier Cabrera’s charges secure Pot-3 rather than Pot-4 in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifying draw in December 2024.

The match is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm and T Sports will televise the match live from the venue.

Prior to today’s match, both teams had faced each other 18 times since 1984, with Bangladesh winning eight, drawing four, and losing six.

This will be their first meeting since October 2023, when Bangladesh won 2-1 in the return leg of the preliminary round of World Cup 2026 qualifiers, resulting in a 3-2 aggregate triumph.

Though Bangladesh (185) is 22 places lower than the Maldives (163) in the current FIFA rankings, they have won three times, drawn once, and lost once in their last five encounters.   

‘We expect to win. We have to be very cautious as our main objective is to win both the games before playing in the round three [AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in March (2025],’ said Cabrera at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

‘Preparation has been very good… Through our preparation, we are convinced and confident with responsibility that everyone is eager to give their best tomorrow [Wednesday] to get the win. Maldives are very unpredictable and technical team and we are going to initiate attacking game,’ he added.

Cabrera informed that defender Topu Barman will lead the side in absence of regular captain Jamal Bhuyan.

Maldives, who had no international engagements since playing Bangladesh in 2023, aimed to return to international football with win after a long absence.

‘We have been without football since we played Bangladesh last in October 2023. So it’s a good opportunity to start international fixtures from this match,’ said Maldives coach Ali Suzain.

‘Despite we had not a good preparation we have confidence on our players because most of the players are from the Maziya S&RC, who played AFC challenge league. So players are very motivated to win.’