Bangladesh National Football team, now in Malaysia, will play higher ranked Bahrain in the opening Group E match of the AFC Asian Cup China' 2023 Qualifiers on Wednesday.

The match will kick off at 3:15 pm Bangladesh time at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. 

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Bangladesh played Bahrain once in 43 years ago in the President's Cup Football in South Korea in 1979 and lost the match by 0-2 goal.

The latest FIFA international ranking of Bahrain is 89 against Bangladesh's current ranking 188.

Earlier, Bangladesh put in strong Group E of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers with  Bahrain, Turkmenistan and hosts Malaysia, scheduled for May 8 to May 14 in Kuala Lumpur.

All the four participating teams now in the  Malaysian capital to compete in the Group E matches of AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.

In the remaining group matches, Bangladesh  will play Turkmenistan on June 11 and will face hosts Malaysia on June 14.

Ahead of the tough match against the gulf nation Bahrain, Bangladesh team made their final practice session at PKNS sports ground in Kuala Lumpur from 5pm to 6:30 pm local time.

Earlier  on  Wednesday (June 1), injury grabbed Bangladesh team played to a goalless draw with 29 ranked higher Indonesia in a FIFA Tier-1 Int'l  Friendly match in Bandung of West Java, Indonesia.

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Bangladeshi nationals  in Malaysia are very much  encouraged and enthusiastic about the team's performance in the AFC Asian Cup following their brave fight against Indonesia. 

The Bangladesh fans gathered at the airport to greet the football  team and attended the team's practice sessions  to encourage team, according to video clip sent by BFF from Malaysia on Tuesday.