Bangladesh eye Singapore rebound as Shamit seeks to erase two defeats

Bangladesh will take on Singapore in their second match of the FIFA ASEAN Cup on Tuesday, looking to bounce back from their opening-day defeat to Malaysia and keep their tournament hopes alive.

Midfielder Shamit Som says Bangladesh are determined to turn the lessons from two recent defeats to Singapore into a positive result this time around.

Bangladesh lost both of their meetings with Singapore in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers over the past year. They suffered a 2-1 defeat at the National Stadium in Dhaka before losing 1-0 away. Shamit featured in both matches.

In a video message released by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on the eve of Tuesday's match, Shamit said the team's previous experience against Singapore would help them prepare.

“We have played against them before, so we have an idea about their style of play. We also watched how they played against Indonesia and prepared accordingly. We have lost to them twice in the past, so there is extra motivation to get a good result this time and avenge those defeats,” Shamit said.

Both teams enter the match after losing their opening games. Bangladesh were beaten 3-0 by Malaysia, while Singapore went down 2-0 to Indonesia.

With both sides needing a result to remain in contention, Shamit acknowledged the importance of the match and said the team has already moved on from the disappointment of their opening performance.

“None of us were satisfied with our performance against Malaysia. But we have to put that disappointment behind us and move forward. Our full focus is now on Singapore. We have competed well against them before, so we have confidence. Everyone is eager to get a good result,” he said.

Shamit also described Bangladesh's participation in a major FIFA-organised competition as a source of pride, stressing that regular exposure to matches at this level would be important for the development of the country's football.

Singapore are currently ranked 33 places above Bangladesh in the FIFA rankings, but Shamit believes the gap will not prevent Bangladesh from competing.

He said Bangladesh had created several good chances in their previous meetings with Singapore and could have secured better results.

The Bangladesh-Singapore match will kick off at 3pm Bangladesh time on Tuesday, with Bangladesh seeking a turnaround after their opening-day setback.