Bangladesh were placed in the same group with India and Sri Lanka in the second edition of the Saff U-18 Championship, scheduled to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal in September as the draw of the seven-team tournament was held at the BFF House in the capital Thursday.
Bangladesh, the runners-up of the previous edition in 2017, will kick off their campaign against Sri Lanka on September 21 before playing against India two days later.
Holder Nepal face Pakistan in the inaugural game on September 20.
Lead academy coach and U-19 national head coach Andy Turner said after the draw, “It’s a tournament we are really looking forward to. We are already preparing for the tournament with lots of hard work.”
“It’s a tough group. We respect our oppositions very much. We do not expect to have any easy game. We have to do our best to win every game. Hopefully we will do well,” added the English coach.
The group round matches will conclude on September 25 after which the top two sides from each group will advance to the semi-finals, scheduled for September 27.
The final will be held on September 29.
Anwar Uddin, a center-back of Bangladesh descendant was roped in by @WestHamUtd in the 1990s but couldn’t make it to the first team as the Hammers had renowned English national defender @rioferdy5 at the same position.https://t.co/qTZ63GgG2b#ANWARUDDIN #ANWAR #UDDIN #BFF #WHUFC
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) July 28, 2019
All the matches will be played at Armed Police Forces Stadium in Kathmandu.
Turner informed that they have currently got 31 U-18 players in the academy and will cut it down to final 23-man squad soon.
Meanwhile, the Saff U-15 Men’s and Women’s Championship 2019 will be held in August and October in India and Bhutan respectively.
The men’s Saff U-15 will be held from August 21 to 31 featuring five teams – India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The women’s Saff U-15 will feature four countries – India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh – and will run from October 9-15.
Both the tournaments will be held in round-robin league before the top two finishers vie for the final.