The Bengal Tigers will take on Jordan for the first time in history and that too in a vital Group B match in the 2018 Russia World Cup qualifiers. The game will kick-off at the Bangabandhu National Stadium at 5pm today.
Both teams haven’t yet recovered from the long journey as the three days prior the clash wasn’t enough for either nation. Bangladesh returned from Australia with a 5-0 thrashing as Mamunul and his troop had no rest after arrival and practiced hard for today’s match. Bangladesh, who looked clueless and nervous in Perth, will be desperate to exhibit a better performance in front of its own crowd.
Meanwhile the Jordan coach, Paul Put also emphasised on their travel time and said, “We have a tough game tomorrow (today) because we had a long journey of 18 hours and also we will be facing a team who are very motivated.” Jordan landed in Dhaka on the back of a draw against comparatively weaker opponents Kyrgyzstan.
The home advantage might not help the men in Red and Green much as the difference between the two teams are crystal clear. Ranked 91st Jordan are the second favourites in the group after the Socceroos and they are highly advanced as far as the strength, experience and depth of the squad is concerned.
It won’t be surprising to see Bangladesh head coach Lodewijk de Kruif chalk out another defensive strategy to salvage one point as the Dutchman expects Jordan, who are looking to get back to winning ways, to be ruthless.
Monaem Khan Raju is likely to replace the injured Hemanta Vincent Biswas in the midfield as Bangladesh will rely on “counter attacks” to do any damage to Jordan who are oozing with experience.
Veteran forward Odai Al-Saify, 29, with 75 caps, possesses the biggest threat while Hamza Al-Daradreh, who scored four against Palestine in January’s Asia Cup, will be an additional headache for the hosts defence. Vastly experienced striker Tha’er Bawab will start from the bench while captain Amer Shafi (116 caps) will be responsible with the gloves.
Weather is the only thing that could appear in favour of the home side. It rained heavily yesterday and for most of the past week and another rain filled day will be an inspiration for Bangladesh who has a history of utilising advantage from a water-logged pitch. Jordan’s Belgian head coach Paul was also concerned about the weather and said rain will make their job tougher.
