Bangladesh to begin Fifa Asean Cup campaign against Malaysia tomorrow
Dooley remains hopeful and sees tournament as key preparation for November's SAFF Championship.
Bangladesh will begin their Fifa Asean Cup 2026 campaign against Malaysia at Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno Stadium tomorrow (25 September), with kick-off at 3pm Bangladesh time.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference today (24 September), Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley said the tournament would serve as important preparation for the Saff Championship, which Bangladesh will host in November.
"We are very happy to be part of this tournament. It's a big challenge for us, but we've always wanted to test ourselves against stronger teams," Dooley said.
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Bangladesh were invited to the tournament after India withdrew and have been drawn in Group A alongside Malaysia, Singapore and hosts Indonesia.
Dooley acknowledged the difficulty of the task, saying Bangladesh must remain realistic about their chances against higher-ranked opponents, reports BSS.
"We know where we stand. I know many fans back home in Bangladesh may expect us to come here and beat everyone, but football doesn't work that way," he said.
The coach also stressed the value of learning from mistakes during the tournament ahead of the Saff Championship.
"We know we're the underdogs, but in football anything can happen," Dooley said.
Captain Jamal Bhuyan said the squad were eager to test themselves against the three Group A opponents.
"We know it's going to be tough, but we believe in ourselves and have confidence in the team," Jamal said.
He added that Bangladesh would aim to compete strongly and collect points, with the tournament serving as a stepping stone towards their home Saff campaign.
Bangladesh's Fifa Asean Cup schedule:
25 September: Bangladesh vs Malaysia, 3pm BST
28 September: Singapore vs Bangladesh, 3pm BST
1 October: Indonesia vs Bangladesh, 6:30pm BST
All three group matches will be played at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
5 October: Bangladesh's fourth match will depend on their Group A finish. A second-place finish would send them into the third-place match at 3pm BST, while winning the group would put them in the final at 7pm BST, both at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
