Bangladesh coach Oscar Bruzon blamed fatigue for a 2-0 loss to hosts Maldives in their SAFF Championship match at the National Football Stadium in Male yesterday night.

An overhead bicycle kick and a calmly converted penalty saw hosts Maldives beat Bangladesh 2-0 in their SAFF Championship group stage encounter at the National Stadium in Male today. 

Despite having tickets, many Bangladeshi expatriate fans tonight failed to enter the National Football Stadium in Male to watch the SAFF Championship encounter between Bangladesh and the Maldives.

The chairman of Oman's cricket board told Reuters he would have had to wave "Goodbye" to the Twenty20 World Cup had a deadly storm that ripped through the Gulf state on Sunday taken a slightly different path.

Following a creditable 1-1 draw against India in the SAFF Championship, the booters of Bangladesh national football team are looking forward to keeping the winning momentum intact in their third match against Maldives on Thursday.

Bangladesh team undertook their first practice session at Muscat, Oman today following one-day in quarantine.

The expatriate spectators had played a significant role behind the good performance of Bangladesh national football team against Sri Lanka and India in the ongoing SAFF Championship but the men in red and green may not have the same volume of support from the expatriate spectators in their next match due to the unavailability of tickets.

England will be well prepared for the Twenty20 World Cup because half of the squad are getting used to conditions in the United Arab Emirates by playing in the Indian Premier League, bowler Tymal Mills said.

Having come back from a goal down and one man short to earn a creditable 1-1 draw against India, Bangladesh football coach Oscar Bruzon mentioned that the Bangladesh football is still well and truly alive and expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the national team in their second SAFF Championship encounter at Maldives yesterday.

Left-back Yeasin Arafat scored a 73rd-minute equaliser to help a 10-man Bangladesh bounce back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw against India during their group stage SAFF Championship game at the National Stadium in Male today.

While it is common to see strikers with good conversion rates compete among each other to make it into the playing eleven, it is certainly unusual and rare for a defender to stay in contention with a striker to become the top scorer. 

The football matches between Bangladesh and India always induces additional excitement among the players and the spectators on both sides and the tacticians of both teams do not lag behind in terms of excitement ahead of another SAFF Championship tie between Bangladesh and India today in Male, Maldives.

With the clock ticking down during the World Cup qualifying match against India at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha in June,

Bangladesh are determined to maximise on winning momentum in today’s SAFF Championship clash against seven-time champions India, a side they have beaten only thrice in the past 50 years.

Before the team’s scheduled departure for Oman today, Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad said that his team’s aim would be to win as many matches as possible in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh football team apparently had a hidden pressure to get off to a winning start in the SAFF Championship and the charges of interim coach Oscar Bruzon did it after switching to a brand of possession-based football from a defensive one.

Topu Barman’s 56th-minute spot-kick gave Bangladesh a winning start in their SAFF Championship campaign as the men in red and green beat Sri Lanka 1-0 at the National Stadium in the Maldives today.

Blowing their whistles and beating drums, the expatriate spectators were flocking at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives as Bangladesh gear up for their SAFF Championship campaign to take off against Sri Lanka this afternoon. The match is scheduled to get underway from 5:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).

A revitalised Bangladesh are set to begin their SAFF Championship campaign with hopes of a winning start in their opening match against a new-look new-look Sri Lanka at the National Football Stadium in Male today.

“I have already bought a ticket to watch Bangladesh’s opening match against Sri Lanka after standing in a long queue on Wednesday. Many Bangladeshis living here are also waiting to buy tickets,” expatriate Mansur Ali contentedly answered ahead of the start of the SAFF Championship in Male today.