Now or Never

Bangladesh footballers gather at the lobby of Everest Hotel in Kathmandu before leaving for their practice session yesterday. Bangladesh take on Pakistan in a crucial SAFF Championship match today. PHOTO: STAR

A morally shattered Bangladesh side will look to their performance against India for inspiration ahead of their last group match against Pakistan today. The Bangladesh side, which looked nervous and out of shape in their 2-0 bashing at the hands of Nepal, gave a much better account of themselves against India, and were only denied by a 93rd minute equaliser from the Indian captain Sunil Chhetri. That match, despite the heart-rending scenes at the end, has given Bangladesh hope that they can beat Pakistan to keep their qualification hopes alive.
The match starts at 3:45pm Bangladesh time at the Halchowk Stadium in Kathmandu.
Taklish Ahmed, who was one of the brightest lights in the match against India, said that the Pakistan match is a do-or-die situation which they will have to win, no matter what.
“This is our last chance. We know we will have to win and we will give it our best shot,” said Taklish, who was running a fever yesterday.
Bangladesh coach Lodewijk de Kruif is also confident that his side can win, despite feeling that Pakistan will be a stronger challenge than India.
“Yes, they are a bigger challenge,” de Kruif said. “I think everybody underrated Pakistan. They have a good team, with matured players, very dangerous. So I think it should be a tougher match than against India.”
Pakistan have undoubtedly earned the admiration of the teams with two good performance in the two games, but were unlucky as they conceded an own goal in their 1-0 defeat against India and an injury time goal in their 1-1 draw against Nepal. The physical presence and the height of the Pakistan players could be a concern for the Bangladesh side who have conceded all three of their goals from set-pieces. The skill of their foreign-based booters -- especially wingers Hasan Bashir and Mohammad Adil and midfielder Saddam Hussain -- can cause headaches in the Bangladesh defence, which looked nervy for the better part of the last two matches.
De Kruif can take heart from the fact that his key midfield player Mamunul Islam is nearing 100 per cent recovery, even if he is not a certain starter. The starting line-up may remain the same except for Nasiruddin Chowdhury, who might have to sit out having three stitches on his forehead after being elbowed by Indian defender Nirmal Chhetri in the last match.
One thing that will give de Kruif confidence though is that Bangladesh have not lost against Pakistan in the last 18 years. The two sides have met seven times in the last eight years and Bangladesh have won three of those, the other five ending in draws. Bangladesh also hold a 2-1 lead in their five SAFF Championship meetings to date.
Bangladesh (probable): Mamun Khan (GK); Wali Faisal, Ariful Islam/Nasir Chowdhury, Atiqur Rahman Meshu, Ashraf Mahmud Linkon; Jamal Bhuiyan, Sohel Rana, Omar Faruk babu; Taklish Ahmed, Mobarak Hossain, Zahid Hossain Emily.