The Seychelles national football team will meet Bangladesh in two friendly games on Saturday, March 25, and Tuesday, March 28, in search of a win after nine winless games.
The Seychelles’ side has not tasted victory since winning the Mahinda Rajapaksa Cup in November 2021, where they defeated Sri Lanka on penalties.
Led by coached by Vivian Both, the Seychelles Pirates have lost six of their nine matches and played out three goalless draws.
The last time these two sides met, the game ended in a 1-1 draw, after Brandon Labrosse scored for Seychelles in the 88th minute to cancel out Mohammad Ibrahim’s 17th-minute opener.
Seychelles will be hoping to do better in Bangladesh in these two games, with a 23-man team made of several new faces, as the team also prepares for the upcoming Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG).
“We also have some new players, so it will give the team’s management the chance to see how they gel,” said Both.
He added that it was advantageous to hold these test matches early in the year because it would give the administration time to make adjustments as needed.
Among the 23 players, two of them are based in England, most notable is Burton Albion defensive midfielder Michael Mancienne and defender Daryl Louis, who plays for English 9th-tier side Abingdon United.
The matches, according to coach Both, will give him the chance to see his players competing as a team for the first time since their last competitive match against San Marino last year, which finished in a scoreless draw.
The two matches will contribute towards the two team’s FIFA rankings, where currently Seychelles lie in 199th place, while Bangladesh is 192nd, having lost 7 of their nine previous matches.
Bangladesh is coached by Spaniard Javier Cabrera, who previously worked with Barcelona and Deportivo Alavés.
AUTHOR: Seychelles News Agency
