'Nepal tie is the final for us'
Fresh from two scintillating performances against India and Maldives, Bangladesh are looking forward to keeping their consistency in the SAFF U-18 Championship when they take on holders Nepal at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan today.
Bangladesh, who are on top of the five-team table with six points from two matches, will take a big stride towards the title if they can overcome Nepal today. Then, all they will need to do is to earn a single point in their last match against Bhutan, who have six points from three matches.
The match against Nepal will be the second biggest test for Bangladesh in this tournament after the match against India as the youngsters from the Himalayan kingdom played well against Bhutan before losing through an 87th-minute penalty. They, however, bounced back in their second match to beat Maldives 2-0.
However, the boys in red and green are upbeat about keeping their momentum going and are fresh from four days of rest.
“Nepal tie is the final for us. If we can beat Nepal tomorrow [Monday], 90 per cent of the job to clinch the title will be completed. Then we will need only a draw against Bhutan in the last match to ensure the championship,” said coach Mahabub Hossain Roxy over phone yesterday.
“We all watched the match between Maldives and Nepal and it is possible to beat Nepal if the boys can even implement 60-70 percent of the game strategy,” Roxy said. “However, Nepal are good in the attacking third as they have two good players (No. 10 and No. 7) upfront but they are not good at defending.”
Bangladesh will hope to capitalise on the weaknesses of their opposition. The Bangladesh attackers are in good form themselves, having scored six goals in two matches. At the same time, the coaching staff is also working on defensive organisation to keep the backline solid like in the game against Maldives.
“I would keep Nepal ahead of us because they are the defending champions and they are used to playing in these environments with high altitude. However, we are trying to cope with the conditions by practising for a couple of days at the venue where we will face Nepal,” said Roxy.
There may be changes in the starting eleven that faced Maldives, with midfielder Al-Amin likely to replace Saikat Mahmud Munna. The coach is also aware of the fact that the opposition will try to neutralise his prolific striker Jafar Iqbal, who scored three goals in two matches.
“Nepal will surely not allow Jafar to play his natural game because all teams know how dangerous he is upfront. But we have alternatives in forwards like Rahim Mia and Biplo Ahmed,” said Roxy.
Comments