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AAP
AAP
Glenn Moore

Bangladesh line up Socceroos clash in Melbourne

Bangladesh will be Australia's first opponents on the long road to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finals.

The Bengal Tigers beat the Maldives 2-1 in Dhaka on Tuesday to claim the final spot in a group that also includes Palestine and Lebanon.

The Socceroos will thus launch their campaign at AAMI Park against the FIFA-ranked 189th team in the world on 16 November.

They then play Palestine on 21 November, probably in Algeria though that is yet to be confirmed by FIFA.

After a 1-1 draw in the Maldives, Bangladesh took an early lead through Rakib Hossain, but Aisam Ibrahim levelled before the break.  

Foysal Ahmed Fahim struck for the home team in the 46th-minute and they held on despite having Mohamed Sohel Rana dismissed 13 minutes later. Deep in injury time the Maldives were also reduced to 10.

The top two teams from the group progress to the next stage.

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