Australian footballers in Dhaka

Australian footballers have arrived in Dhaka to play the second leg of a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh nearly two months after its cricketers cancelled a tour citing security concerns.

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The Socceroos landed at Shahjalal International Airport at around 8:30pm on Monday.

Bangladesh will play them at 5:30pm on Tuesday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Bangladesh lost the away match 5-0 in Perth on Sep 3.

Security around the stadium has been stepped up and there will be no lacking during the match, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and law-enforcers say.

The Australian football team were supposed to arrive on Saturday. But their decision was changed at the last moment.

Australia are placed 60th in FIFA ranking while Bangladesh are 180th. The visitors are currently in second position in Group B in the qualifying round with 12 points.

They have won four matches and lost one so far, while Bangladesh are winless in their qualifying campaign. They are currently at the bottom of the pool with one point.

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.

Source: bdnews24