Will Kings Arena bring Bangladesh good luck once more? The question must be raised by the fans as Bangladesh are going to host Palestine in their second-leg match of the double-leg joint qualifiers (round 2) Group I for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 at this venue on 26 March.

The men in red and green have been unbeaten so far with one win and three draws at their favorite den, Bashundhara Kings Arena of the Bashundhara Sports Complex, since their debut there with a match against Afghanistan in September last year. 

The prime football stadium, built by the country’s largest business conglomerate Bashundhara Group, has already been proved as a lucky charm for the national side, and their coach Javier Cabrera as they have earlier resisted teams like Lebanon, Afghanistan and South Asian rivals Maldives there. 

Both the booters and the head coach confessed that the positive vibe of the stadium, the condition of the pitch and support from the spectators deeply inspire them to do something for the nation, for the country and to play their best for the 90-minute, which never happened with them in any other places. 

Apart from it, the day, 26 March, is also very significant for the nation as the country has been celebrating the day as their Independence Day commemorating the country's declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1971.   

Both the place and the venue are in favour of the men in red and green to get a positive result, but Cabrera and his men have to do the right thing at the right time in the match. Can Bangladesh do the right thing now? 

“It is possible to make a comeback (for us). We don't need to win against them by 5-0 goals. It is not mandatory. If we beat them (Palestine) by1-0 at our home, that is fine. That is our target. The result (of the first-leg away match) was disappointing for us. Neither footballers nor coaching staff had expected it,” said veteran defender Tapu Barman to the reporters on Saturday. 

The team returned to Dhaka on Friday night a day after conceding the fatal 0-5 goals defeat to the lions of Canaan at the neutral venue Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City. However, Bangladesh resumed their training at the Kings Arena on Saturday. 

“I don't think we had a lack of concentration and stamina but the defending was a bit shaky. We played equally and created chances. After conceding the first goal we got down morally a little bit. It would have been better for us if the whole team had done the same, because 4vs6 (Bangladesh defenders vs Palestinian strikers) is very difficult,” the defender further added. 

After the match, coach Cabrera said that they have to find the reasons as to why they failed to continue the performance which they did in the first 40-minute, why they made mistakes in the end, and why they failed to make a comeback in the second half. However, he also promised that they would not repeat the same mistakes in the home match. 

When midfielder Sohel Rana was asked which mistakes the coach had marked after the match, he replied, “Coach instructed a lot of things before the game. We did a lot of things, but we also failed to do many things. We are now thinking about the next match. The coach is saying that we have to give our best at home, which we usually do. We are now working on our silly mistakes.” 

“We have a soft corner for Palestine, but of course it is outside of the ground. But neither us, nor they have that emotion inside the ground as both of us are representing our countries. We may have good relations outside of the ground, but there is no soft corner inside the ground between us,” the veteran midfielder ended.