Looking for a miracle
Looking for a miracle
Bangladesh take on Hong Kong today
Bangladesh will be looking forward to creating a small piece of history when they face Hong Kong in their last Group B match of the Asian Games at the Hwaseong Sports Complex in Incheon today. The match will start at 2pm Bangladesh time.
Having never qualified for the second round in the Asian Games, the Bangladesh U-23 team may enter uncharted territory provided that they beat Hong Kong.
It may be a small matter of a win but according to Bangladesh's Dutch coach Lodewijk de Kurif, whose tactical game-plan gave Bangladesh a shock 1-0 win against Afghanistan, his boys need to perform a miracle to beat a nation that has not lost a football match at any level against Bangladesh.
Ranked 164th, Hong Kong need only a draw to advance into the next round along with Uzbekistan from this group.
“We have collected three points and that means tomorrow's (today's) game is very important for us. If we can collect another three points, we go to the second round. If we secure one point, we are out of the tournament. When you have a chance to go to the second round, you have to avail it and not let it slip,” said De Kruif after a one-and-a-half-hour training session at the Goyang training ground yesterday.
De Kruif has every reason to be upbeat after his charges' inspiring performance against Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, especially in the second half despite a 3-0 defeat.
During training, the coach worked a lot on how to build attacks through both wings and how to track back against the speedy Hong Kong side.
It is understood that the Dutchman is likely to shun the ultra-defensive strategy that he adopted against Uzbekistan opting instead to start left-winger Zahid Hossain in place of defender Kesto Kumar and striker Wahed Ahmed in place of Toklish Ahmed.
De Kruif hinted that he was against going all-out right from the start, saying he would not mind if one of his players scores another 85th-minute winner like Mamumul Islam did against Afghanistan.
“It is not that we will attack and attack without any ideas. We have seen Hong Kong's matches. I think there is a possibility of a victory even though they are a good, organised team. Even if we can score after 85 minutes, I will be a happy man. Let's see how the game plays out tomorrow and hopefully we can grab our chances,” said a confident De Kruif.
He said that Hong Kong were put under heavy pressure in the last 20 minutes in their 2-1 win against Afghanistan.
”With the experience that Hong Kong have, one point is enough for them to secure a second round berth. I told my boys that they (Hong Kong) are a very strong side but at the same time there are a lot of possibilities. And if we collect three points against them, it will be a miracle,” concluded the Bangladesh coach.