Two Bangladeshi national footballers-- Bishwanath Ghosh and Isa Faisal --reached Phnom Penh on Tuesday (June 13) to play a FIFA Tier-1 International Friendly match with hosts Cambodia as a part of their preparation for the eight-nation 14th SAFF championship 2023 in India.
The two players-- Bishwanath Ghosh and Isa Faisal--who failed to accompany the team last Thursday as they did not got Indian in time and finally they got visa Monday and left for Cambodia in the night to join the team.
Bangladesh team will play a FIFA Int'l Friendly against Cambodia on June 15 at 7 pm at the Phnom Penh National Stadium and will fly for India on the next day (June 16) to compete in the SAFF Championship 2023 scheduled for June 21 to July 5 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
Read more: Bangladesh beat Tiffy Army FC by 1-0 goal in lone practice match
Bangladesh team made good practices in Cambodia beating local Premier Division side Tiffy Army FC 1-0 in a preparatory match at the Army Stadium in Phnom Penh in Monday, featuring a first half goal by Mohammad Sohel Rana.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh team made gym, recovery and pool sessions at the team hotel Tuesday noon, but they did not do field practices on Tuesday.
Bangladesh will attend the team' s managers meeting Wednesday morning and later will address the official press conference before making their final practice session in the afternoon.
Read more: Bangladesh booters will play Tiffy Army FC in lone practice match in Cambodia on Monday
Earlier, Bangladesh have been drawn in Group B of the (SAFF) Championship 2023 with top seed and invitee Lebanon, two times champions Maldives and Bhutan while Group A team comprises eight-time champions India, invitee Kuwait, Nepal and Pakistan.
In the SAFF Championship, hosts India will play their arch-rivals Pakistan in one of the two opening day's matches at 7:30 pm local time on June 21 while invitee Kuwait will face Nepal in the other inaugural day's match at 3:30 pm.
Bangladesh, the champions of 2003, will start their campaign taking on favorite and top seed Lebanon on the following day (June 22) at 3:30 pm at the same venue.
Read more: Bangladesh football team leave Dhaka for Cambodia Saturday to play FIFA Int'l Friendly
Bangladesh, who did not overcame the group stage barrier in the last five editions, will play Maldives on June 25 at 3:30 pm and meet Bhutan on June 28 at 7:30 pm in their remaining group matches
After the round-robin league matches, top two teams from each groups, will play in the semifinals on July 1 while the final billed for July 4