Try not to expect too much: de Kruif
Head coach Lodewijk de Kruif has urged on fans to keep their expectations in check yet vowed for a good show from the Bangladesh under-23 team during the AFC U-23 Championship (Group E) Qualifiers, which kicks off at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday.
The Dutchman said that despite having injury concerns, his team has prepared different combinations and ideas over the last two weeks so that the team can compete and fight for a place in the 16-team final round, where ten group champions and five best runners up teams will join the host nation Qatar.
“Please try not to have expectations too high on these boys because they are young and facing fantastic opponents like Syria and Uzbekistan, who are much ahead of us,” said de Kruif during an official press briefing at the BFF house yesterday. “We will fight for qualification but I can't promise anything because it is very difficult. We have been preparing and we have very good organisation. We will have opportunities there to come out with good results.”
The Bangladesh national team has raised the bar of expectations with a commendable performance in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in January. But the question is whether the U-23 team, which includes nine players from the senior team, can replicate the performance of the senior team.
“Players like Mamunul (Islam), Jamal (Bhuiyan), Nasir (Chowdhury) are very important in the national team and the absence of those senior players may be a problem this time but I have full confidence in this group of guys. They are very talented and willing and I am very happy that they are getting experience of playing against strong opponents. Whether we are weak or strong, I won't know until the end of the tournament. The important thing is to let the U-23 team play for the nation,” opined de Kruif.
The 45-year old coach believes countries like Uzbekistan and Syria have different level of standard compared to Bangladesh and that his expectation is to have good team organisation, especially in defence against those opponents.
The hosts are considering a counter-attack based strategy against Syria and Uzbekistan and adopt their usual attacking style against India.
Skipper Raihan Hasan is also optimistic with the preparation even though his key midfielder Hemanta Vincent Biswas would not be able to play the first match against Syria due to a one-match suspension he received while playing for the Bangladesh under-19 team.
“We will be trying to put our best in a bid to keep stay the race for qualification,” said Raihan, who will be leading the national team for the first time at any level.
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