The Bangladesh national football team will conclude their AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying campaign against Singapore away at the National Stadium in Singapore on Tuesday at 6pm.
Singapore have already confirmed qualification from Group C with 11 points from five matches, while Bangladesh are placed third with five points from the same number of games.
In the first leg, Bangladesh hosted Singapore in Dhaka, where they fought bravely against the higher-ranked side in a 2-1 defeat. Song Ui-Young and Ikhsan Fandi netted one goal each for Singapore before Bangladesh’s Rakib Hossain pulled one back in the second half.
“We had a very good start in that game and then somehow we dropped the energy. Those moments in the middle of the match were when Singapore took advantage of the situations very well.
There were probably two mistakes from us, and Singapore won the game. But in the last 20–30 minutes, if you remember, we had many chances to at least get a point,” said Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera on Monday, reflecting on the previous clash against Singapore.
It was Bangladesh’s fourth match in the group, following two draws against India and Hong Kong, China in their opening two fixtures, before a 4-3 defeat in a tightly contested away match in Hong Kong.
Cabrera’s charges edged past India 1-0 in their last match, which was their first victory over the South Asian rivals in more than two decades.
The Men in Red and Green want to end their campaign on a positive note, while Singapore will aim to sign off in style with a victory on home soil.
“It’s a very important match for us,” Cabrera said about the upcoming tie.
“We want to deliver a strong performance tomorrow at least at the same level as in the first match and try to fight for points,” the Spanish coach added.
A victory against Hong Kong, China ensured Singapore secured qualification on merit for the first time, with their only previous appearance in the continental showpiece coming as hosts in 1984.
Bangladesh played a FIFA international friendly away against Vietnam last week as part of their preparation for the Singapore encounter. They lost the match 3-0.
In the other Group C fixture, India will seek to end their difficult campaign on a positive note with a win against Hong Kong, China. India have earned two points from five matches and sit at the bottom of the group, behind Bangladesh.
Two additional spots will be filled on the concluding matchday of the Final Round of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers on the same day.
Groups C, E and F have already been decided, while Groups A and D will go down to the wire. Group B, however, will conclude in June, as the match between Lebanon and Yemen has been postponed due to the war in the Middle East.
