Bangladesh football team’s head coach Javier Cabrera claimed his team are in very good shape and, given good preparation, can be competitive and make things difficult for other teams in next month’s SAFF Championship.

Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera put the onus on preparing for the upcoming SAFF Championship, scheduled for July in India, after a meeting with the National Teams Committee at the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) House yesterday.

Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuiyan was dropped from the starting eleven in the second FIFA friendly against Seychelles at Sylhet District Stadium on Tuesday.

The last time Rabiul played for Bangladesh before the Seychelles matches was 36

Seychelles coach Neville Both is wary of challenge posed by Bangladesh’s two centre-backs – Tapu Barman and Tariq Kazi – and midfielder Jamal Bhuiyan ahead of the second FIFA friendly match in Sylhet on Tuesday.

Javier Cabrera has been handed one-year extension on his contract as head coach of Bangladesh national football team, said a statement from Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Wednesday.

Having met with the Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera and technical director Paul Smalley following the recent performance of the national football team, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is now searching a path to counter the inconsistent performance of the men in red and green, which especially becomes prominent during a tournament’s latter stages.

Despite a long-standing problem when it comes to scoring goals, Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera has pinned his hopes on inexperienced strikers for the two FIFA-sanctioned friendlies next month and excluded Nabib Newaj Jibon, the country's most experienced forward.

Bangladesh head coach, Javier Cabrera, announced a 27-member preliminary squad for the two upcoming FIFA international friendly matches without country’s top striker Nabib Newaj Jibon.

After showing a bit of competitiveness in the Asian Cup Qualifiers nine weeks ago, Bangladesh football team's coach Javier Cabrera is hoping to get a maiden win under his belt when his charges play against Cambodia and Nepal in FIFA friendly matches next month.

Although Bangaldesh could not win a single match in the Asian Cup Qualifiers last June, the charges of Spanish coach Javier Cabrera showed some signs of improvement with competitive displays against highly-ranked Bahrain, Turkmenistan and Malaysia despite the absence of key players.

It might have been tough to find even a single Bangladesh football fan who expected anything big from the national football team when a depleted squad left the country last month.

Bangladesh centre-back Topu Barman, who is missing the Asian Cup Qualifiers due to a long-term injury, was impressed with the positive performance of the team against Turkmenistan in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

After a goalless draw in an international friendly against Indonesia on Wednesday, Bangladesh reached Kuala Lumpur today to gear up for the Asian Cup Qualifiers, starting from June 8. Bangladesh were placed in Group E alongside Malaysia, Bahrain and Turkmenistan.

Bangladesh national football team had a good preparation for the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifiers when a depleted side played out a goalless draw against Indonesia in a FIFA friendly in Bandung, Indonesia tonight.

Before the departure of the national football team for Jakarta on Friday for their FIFA friendly against Indonesia and the ensuing Asian Cup Qualifiers in Malaysia, the national team’s head coach Javier Cabrera remained optimistic about their chances despite the absence of experienced forwards in his squad.