Bangladesh Under-23 football team will kick off their AFC U-23 Championship Qualifying campaign today when they take on a strong Syrian side in the second match of Group E at Bangabandhu National Stadium. The match will begin at 6pm.
Syria, placed 152nd according to the latest Fifa rankings, are the last team from the group to arrive in Dhaka following their 10-day stay in Kuwait. There, the Syrians played six practice matches in total against Indonesia, Singapore and Kuwait, winning five times and drawing once.
Bangladesh on the contrary have been training for two weeks at home but they did not play a single warm-up match abroad. Given the contrasting preparations of the two teams, Bangladesh’s Dutch head coach Lodewijk de Kruif is well aware of the tough task awaiting them.
“Very tough game against Syria who are one of the favourites in the group along with Uzbekistan. I’m happy that we are going to start so that we know the output of all the hard works we put in. There is no real target for us,” De Kruif told the media at BFF House yesterday.
“Of course we want to win and qualify. But for now, the most important thing is that my boys will have experience to play in that level and I hope they will play well tomorrow (today),” he said.
De Kruif, who will miss the services of one of his best players in Hemanta Vincent Biswas due to injury, informed that the qualifiers will be different and more competitive than the recently concluded Bangabandhu Gold Cup where Bangladesh finished runners up among six teams.
The 45-year old coach added that they will adopt the counter-attack strategy against Syria.
“We want good defensive organisation. Not attack like crazy people. Find our moments to see the gap and possibility where we can beat them. Not give away goals,” he said.
Bangladesh skipper Rayhan Hasan on the other hand exuded confidence despite their lack of preparation.
“Our preparation was good and I hope we can execute on the field what our coach taught us in training. He also taught us how to play against strong sides. If we are able to execute our plans, the result will be positive I believe,” said Rayhan yesterday.
In spite of the favourites tag, Syria coach Muhannad al Fakir believes the home side will still pose a strong challenge.
“It is going to be a very difficult game because Bangladesh are a good team. They try to play fast. They are playing at their stadium in front of their people. They know this place,” said Fakir yesterday.
