The confident hosts, Bangladesh, are determined to kick off the rejuvenated Bangabandhu Gold Cup with a victory as they take on a young and untested Malaysia Under-23 side in the opening match of the six-nation tournament at Sylhet District Stadium at 5pm today.
This will be only the second time the venue will be hosting an international football match with the clash between Bangladesh U-23 and Nepal U-23 being the first in the twilight of 2014.
The tournament format does not allow any team to relax and every match is considered to be crucial for moving forward. With only two matches to play in the group stage and the Sri Lanka national team being the other opponent in Group A, a win today will somewhat ensure Mamunul and Co a last-four spot.
Similar to Bangladesh, the Malaysian squad also started preparing for the event on January 1 but with a different outcome in mind. While Bangladesh are taking this rare international exposure very seriously and worked on adopting their own strategy in the past four weeks, Malaysia are focused to build a strong unit for the upcoming AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers and formed a squad with new players and it is needless to say the Southeast Asian side will try to make full use of this platform.
Bangladesh Football Federation called up Lodewijk de Kruif, especially for the tournament as the Dutch coach took charge of the Red and Greens last Saturday.
De Kruif, however, suffered a toothache and was not able to make it to the pre-match press conference yesterday as the home side’s assistant coach Saiful Bari Titu took the spotlight along with his captain Mamunul.
“Our playing style is to build up, quick play, quick interchange of passes, quick defending after losing possession from the attack and not giving the opponents enough space,” informed Titu who has acted as the head and guided the team since the preparations began.
“The fitness of the players has reached a good level. Our main target is to perform on the given match day and it is important for us to win the first match as it will smoothen our way to the semifinals. We want to start the campaign with a victory,” he said, hinting of fielding a 4-3-3 formation.
Titu is hopeful his charges will not disappoint in today’s clash as the players have gained some useful experience by playing Japan U-21 and Korean club Busan IPark recently.
The home side’s skipper, versatile midfielder Mamunul, is also hyped up to produce a positive show and said, “We players are mentally prepared for the match and physically fitter. We are ready and we will try to play our best on the pitch. The plan is to get points from the first match.”
Meanwhile, Malaysia head coach Mohamed Razip Ismail revealed he has no idea of their today’s opponent and in a way does not even expect his new side to upset the hosts.
“We assembled this side for AFC U-23 Qualifiers. So, we consider this tournament as part of our preparation. To be frank, I have no idea about Bangladesh team and never seen them play but I think they are a good side. There are quality players in the national team. I also think they prepared very well for this tournament,” he said.
The visiting captain Nazirul Naim is their key player and he is the only experienced face having played in the Asian Games last year. However, majority of the Malaysian players do have the experience of playing in the Singapore League.
Nazirul echoed his coach and added, “This participation will help us to prepare for AFC Qualifiers. We will show our best in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup.”
