The majority of the Bangladesh players have never played against India and none of them have the experience of playing in front of such a big crowd that is expected to fill the galleries of Salt Lake Stadium Tuesday.
With the tickets already sold out, more than 80,000 spectators will watch the game from stands. Bangladesh head coach Jamie Day urged his players to utilize the opportunity to prove themselves while captain Jamal Bhuiyan believed that the pressure will be on India in front of the home crowd.
“You know, you never get such an opportunity to play in front of such a crowd and the boys are surely not going to be nervous. For us, we need to challenge the crowd. We need to prove ourselves. It is a fantastic opportunity for the boys to show how much they have improved in front of a big crowd, so they will be confident and will enjoy the match.” said Day at the pre-match conference Monday.
#Bangladesh, #India ready for #football supremacy https://t.co/5wr8N4pkHy
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Jamal said, “We are under no pressure, rather there is pressure on India who are going to play on their home ground. I will just tell my players, go out there to enjoy the match because you will not get the chance to play in front of big crowd too often”
Day explained how his side could get something out of the difficult challenge ahead. “We need to make sure we are defensively good and don’t concede early in front of a possibly strong crowd. For us, we need to be solid and we need to stand against them for as long as possible and need to take the chances home.”
Stimac: Bangladesh could have won against Qatar
India’s Croatian coach Igor Stimac is well aware of the recent development of the Bangladesh team and was full of praises of their performance against Qatar in their last match on Wednesday.
#Mamunul hopeful, cautious about #Chhetri https://t.co/rIIe0vp67Y
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“The Bangladesh team have proved themselves in defeat also, especially, in the match against Qatar. They could have won against Qatar if they availed the chances.” said Stimac.
“They advanced the game enough. They stand together for the last 14 /15 months under their new coach. They worked six to seven days before their last game. They are a very organised side at the moment. They are quite disciplined.”
The 52-year-old coach added, “We have to prove that we are capable of having the majority of ball possession and dominating the game, and capable of continuously attacking the opponent. At the same time, we are organised in defense because Bangladesh are best in counter-attacking football.”
