The Bangladesh football team will reach Lahore on July 1 to play their away match of the World Cup qualifying round match here at the Punjab Stadium. The team will land at the Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore at 09:45am from Karachi in the same flight in which the Pakistan team reach back home after playing the first leg match of the qualifier in Dhaka. The Bangladesh team will leave for home from Lahore via Karachi on July 4. After the loss Pakistan coach blamed the soggy conditions in Bangladesh and pointed out that the result would be different in Lahore. Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi was far from convinced that his team lost due to their lack of skills or techniques; instead he laid all the blame on the pitch conditions after their 3-0 defeat against Bangladesh at the post-match briefing at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, reported Daily Star.
This was the second worst result for Pakistan against Bangladesh, after their 4-0 defeat in the SAFF Championships in Goa in 1999. Lutfi, the coach of Pakistan who is at the helm for the second time, was hiding behind the excuse of rain. Lutfi conceded though that three goals was be one too many for his team to overcome, yet vowed for a good performance in the return match back home.
