Bangladesh football team reach Thailand

Bangladesh football team landed in Thailand's capital Bangkok Monday afternoon for their five-day long camp, including with a couple of warm-up matches against two Thai professional league clubs this week, ahead of the much-awaited Laos friendly next Tuesday. The squad now has more depth, compared to their previous two phases of training camp in BKSP and Qatar, with the inclusion of seven players from top-tier champion Abahani Limited. But due to zero international experience in 17 months, the two practice matches ahead of the Laos friendly would be crucial for Bangladesh tactician Andrew Ord, who is only a week away from making his national team debut as head coach. The men in red and green will have only a day to get prepared for their first opponent in Thailand, Ratchaburi Mitr Phol Football Club. The Ratchaburi-based club has been playing in the Thai top division since 2013 and finished sixth out of 18 teams last time around. In the ongoing season, they have recruited a couple of Brazilians - midfielder Felipe Jacomo and forward Rosimar Amancio - French defender Angdre Joel and Korean forward Soo Il.

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Also read: Bangladesh brace for Thailand, Laos tour

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Following a day’s break, Ord's charges will face a tougher Thai opponent in the shape of Bangkok Glass Football Club Friday. Established in 2006, the capital-based club have been competing in the top-flight league since 2009 and finished fifth last season. Their foreign recruits hail from five different countries - Australian defender Matthew Smith, French forward Federic Mendy, Spanish midfielder Daniel Rodriguez, Malaysian defender Insa Bohigues and Serbian midfielder Mario Durovski. Sunday, Bangladesh will fly off for south east Asian nation Laos, situated beyond the eastern boundary of Thailand. The team will stay in the capital Vientiane and play the much-talked about friendly at Laos National Stadium. Bangladesh last played an international against Bhutan on October 10, 2016 while Laos have taken part in half-a-dozen international fixtures since then, losing five and winning only one. Meanwhile Sunday, Ord announced the final 23-man squad for the south east Asia tour, keeping 16 players from the 24-member squad in Qatar and including seven AFC Cup-bound Abahani players, except injured midfielder Sohel Rana.