Bangladesh set for historic first friendly against San Marino tonight

Bangladesh will embark on a new chapter in their football journey when they take on San Marino in an international friendly on Friday night (June 5), marking the country's first-ever match against a European side on European soil.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 11:00pm (Bangladesh time) and will be broadcast live on T Sports.

The fixture will also mark the beginning of the Thomas Dooley era, with the newly appointed head coach taking charge of Bangladesh for the first time.

Bangladesh currently sit 181st in the FIFA rankings, while San Marino occupy 211th place, the lowest-ranked position in world football. Despite the ranking gap, the visitors are treating the match as a valuable test against a team accustomed to facing some of Europe's strongest nations.

Although this will be Bangladesh's first match in Europe, it is not their first encounter with a European opponent. The men in red and green previously faced Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2001 Nehru Cup in India, suffering a 2-0 defeat.

The match will also be a landmark occasion for San Marino, who are set to face an Asian nation for the first time in their history.

Ahead of the game, Bangladesh midfielder Hamza Choudhury said he expects a tough challenge, noting that San Marino regularly compete against high-quality European opposition.

"It definitely won't be an easy game. They play against strong teams regularly. For us, it's our first match on European soil, and overall it's a great experience. I'm very excited to play against a European team and San Marino," Hamza said.