Bangladesh U23 side take on hosts Kuwait in the away leg of pre-Olympic qualifying match at the Mohammad Al Hamad Stadium in Kuwait City today.
Hosts Kuwait are the predominant favourites for the match with a gulf of 45 places in FIFA ranking between the two sides. Kuwait’s senior side have beaten Bangladesh two times so far; first a 2-1 win in 1973 and the second one was 4-0 in 1986.
Before departing here for Kuwait, assistant coach Saiful Bari Titu hinted that they would adopt an ultra-defensive strategy to avoid humiliation as the Kuwaiti U23 have shown excellent scoring form thrashing Japan (3-0), Yemen (5-0) and Bahrain (1-0) in practice matches.
Before leaving for Kuwait, Bangladesh players had only ten days of practice and a single practice match against BFF eleven which ended in a goalless draw.
Bangladesh will host Kuwait on March 9 at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the home leg.
