Bangladesh skipper Mamunul Islam Mamun is hopeful his team can perform well in the upcoming Saff Championship but admitted that in terms of playing strength, Bangladesh were third of fourth in their group, which has India, Nepal and Pakistan in it.
Bangladesh is in Group B, which is being called the "group of death". Bangladesh defeated Nepal 2-0 in the AFC Challenge Cup on home soil and outplayed Pakistan 3-0 in the World Cup pre-qualifiers. They are also ahead of Nepal and India in the Fifa rankings, but Mamun seemed was cautious in his assessment of the team's prospects in the tournament.
"We are in the death group. If you count on the quality, we are on third or fourth in our group. India are the defending champions, while Nepal will have the home advantage. Pakistan and we are on almost same level. Hopefully we will perform well in the tournament," said Mamunul.
Bangladesh national team enjoyed a practice session at National Football Center in Nangchok, Bangkok yesterday ahead of their second practice match tomorrow. "The training is going well. We all are working hard and trying to implement the coach's instructions and information perfectly," said the captain.
Zahid Hossain missed the training session again due to injury, as did new addition Mobarak, who is carrying a minor injury. Star striker Emily was philosophic in looking ahead to the tournament. "All the players are giving their best to the trainings. They are fully focused on the Saff. You all know that this is a death group. But we are focusing on each match and we will try to play good football."
Another striker Shakhawat Hossain Rony said, "We all know that our group is pretty hard. We have been practicing for quite a time now. I don't think players are taking the group as a big pressure. We have to be strong both mentally and physically, follow our coaches - learn from the mistakes, these things will help us in the long run."
"The team is in good shape and we are practicing sincerely. In every position, we have two players so players are playing their heart out to play to make the starting eleven. If we keep up this mentality, I think we will do well."