The Bangladesh National Football Team safely reached the Maldives capital Male on Tuesday afternoon to play the Qualification Round-1 match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 against the hosts, the Maldives.
A 32-member Bangladesh football team, without three key players, left Dhaka on Tuesday morning at 9:05 am by a BS 337 flight and reached the team hotel in Male at about 1 pm.
Also read: Bangladesh to play Maldives in qualification round of FIFA World Cup 2026 on Oct 12
Three vital players of the national side—number one goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico, reliable defender Topu Barman, and promising striker Shekh Morsalin—missed the trip as they were suspended temporarily by their club, Bashundhara Kings, on disciplinary grounds.
The Bangladesh team will return home on October 13.
Also read: Bangladesh come from behind to beat Maldives, keep SAFF dream alive
The touring Bangladesh team will play hosts Maldives on Thursday (October 12) at 5:00 pm local time in their Asian Zone Qualification away match at the Rasmee Dhandu (Galolhu) National Stadium in Male.
In their home match, the Bangladesh team will face the Maldives again on October 17 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka.
Ahead of Thursday's match against the Maldives, the Bangladesh team is scheduled to make their first practice session on Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm local time and 7:30 pm Bangladesh time, although there is light rain in the Maldives.
Also read: SAFF Championship 2023: Bangladesh to take on Maldives on Sunday UNB NEWS DHAKA
The Bangladesh team need to win the two-match series toppling the Maldives, not only to reach the group stage of the FIFA World Cup'2026 but also to avoid a possible ban on playing international matches for about one year.
Earlier, Bangladesh were deprived of playing international football matches for one and a half years after losing to Bhutan in 2015.
As a part of their preparation for the FIFA World Cup preliminary round against the Maldives, Bangladesh played a two-match FIFA Tier-1 International Friendly Football series against their 32-ranked opponent, Afghanistan, which ended in a draw in Dhaka last month.
The first match between two teams ended in a goalless draw, while the tense-packed second match ended in a 1-1 draw, both at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka in the first week of September.