Hosts Bangladesh will play defending champions Palestine in the opening match of the six-nation Bangabandhu International Gold Cup Football Tournament on January 15 at 5:pm at the country’s premier sports venue—Bangabandhu National Stadium here.

The year 2019 was tumultuous year for Bangladesh football, which witnessed its fair share of highs and lows over the past 12 months. Overall though, it has to be said that under Englishman Jamie Day, the men’s national team seem to be on to a good thing for the first time in years. It remains to be seen how much further the team can progress under his tutelage. Before turning the page to 2020, let's look back at the year that was for Bangladesh football.   Slight improvement in FIFA rankings   The Bangladesh Men’s National football team started the year 2019 ranked a dismal 192nd out of 210 nations in the FIFA rankings. They moved to 188th slot in April and then jumped up five place to move 183rd in June and then 182nd in July. That would remain the peak for the year however, as they again slipped down to 184th in October and finally ended the year at 187th with 915 points – so not all that much better in the end, but certainly not worse.