Argentina national football team might play a FIFA friendly match against Paraguay at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on November 18, three days after a match between Paraguay and Venezuela at the same venue, according to official twitter accounts of Venezuela and Paraguay football governing bodies.
Although Bangladesh Football Federation high-ups claimed the matches are not yet certain, there has been talks of hosting high-profile international teams later this year as build-up to celebration of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary next year.
Abu Nayeem Shohag, general secretary of BFF, claimed that they have been working on this issue for quite some time and have been in talks with the respective South American football bodies, even though the final call depends on the government’s green signal on security as well as getting funds to host the matches.
“We have been working on this for quite some time. At the moment, there is a 50/50 chance of the matches taking place in Dhaka. There are issues such as funding and security ensurance involved with the matches. If those issues are solved, hosting these matches is very likely. We are discussing things with the government agencies,” Shohag told The Daily Star.
Though there has been no official post from the Argentina Football Association in this regard, Mundo Albiceleste, a leading news portal on Argentine football, carried a news about Argentina’s match in Dhaka.
According to the news, the Albiceleste will play against Brazil in Saudi Arabia on November 15 before travelling to Bangladesh for the match against Paraguay three days later.
Lionel Messi, who is serving a three-month international suspension for his comments against referees during this year’s Copa America, will be eligible for these two matches.
Argentina played against Nigeria in a FIFA friendly in Dhaka in 2011, winning the match 3-1.
-With The Daily Star input
