Bangladesh will be looking to use their home condition for eking out a positive outcome against Jordan in their next World Cup qualifying match in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Bangladesh —bruised and battered in their last match against Australia —have a relatively better record at home and players hoped this will give them an edge once again despite their gulf of difference with Jordan.
Jordan, who missed the last World Cup in Brazil at 2014 after a play-off loss to Uruguay, ranked 91st in the world, 82 places ahead of Bangladesh, who slipped to 173rd place during last week.
The Arab team already arrived in Dhaka and had their first training session here on Sunday afternoon when their struggle in humid condition was clearly visible.
Midfielder Jamal Bhuiyan was hoping to the cash in on the advantage against an illustrious opponent otherwise.
‘I think we have a good advantage because this is our home ground,’ said the midfielder, who was raised in Denmark.
‘The condition of Bangladesh is far different from Jordan. I don’t know whether they [Jordan] are used to this condition or not, but I think most of the teams who come to Bangladesh tend to suffer because of this condition.’
The midfielder, who is the key to Bangladesh’s game plan, however admitted that they have to raise their performance in the match if they are to deny Jordan any point.
‘We know Jordan is a good team. They drew with Uruguay in the World Cup play-offs last time, which only indicates that they are a big team full of strong players,’ said Jamal.
The game is equally important to Jordan, who were held by Kyrgyzstan for a goalless draw at home in the last game. The result came as a serious blow for them as the Arab nation is still looking for their maiden berth in the World Cup.
Jordan captain Tha’er Bawab, the only Europe-based Jordan player, said his side is determined to bounce back from Kyrgyzstan draw, an unexpected result that threatened to derail their current campaign.
‘The draw against Kyrgyzstan was disappointing result for us,’ said the former Barcelona and Real Madrid B team striker, who shoulders huge responsibly in the absence of Hasan Abdullah, their hat-trick hero in 3-0 win over Tajikistan.
‘It will be a difficult match as it’s an away match,’ he said. ‘Everyone in the Jordan team will try our best to win the match.
Bawab, who is now playing for Romanian top-league club CS Universitatea Craiova, was hopeful to cope with the condition of Bangladesh before the match.
‘The weather is a big difference between here and Jordan. The humidity here is too high but I hope the condition will be okay for us on the day after tomorrow,’ he said.
-With New Age input
