U-23s take on Bahrain today

The Bangladesh Olympic team are looking forward to weighing their level as they take on Bahrain in the first Group B fixture of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup at the Shamsul Huda Stadium in Jessore today.

Though Bangladesh Olympic team are participating in the tournament as part of their South Asian (SA) Games preparation, they have set a preliminary target of qualifying for the semifinals, and they want to begin the campaign on a winning note against a side which has brought players born between 1995 and 1996.

Skipper and centre-back Rezaul Karim wants to start their Jessore campaign from where the senior team left. “The national began with a victory and we will be hoping to produce something similar too. We are confident of a good outing to enthral the spectators and there will be the best effort from us,” said Reza.

There has, however, been no pressure to perform from either the team management or coach Gonzalo Sanchez Moreno, who has instructed his charges to play their normal football and enjoy the game as long as they are on the field. Moreno wants to see where his charges stand after nearly one month's preparation for next month's SA Games.

“Our target is to find out the level we stand at the moment. We are ready for the tournament and the players are excited to take part,” said Moreno, who prefers to build up the game from behind with crisp passing, good amount of ball possession based on zonal marking.

Moreno believes the first match is very important and it is a big test for his charges. The Spaniard can bank on his young guns who have the experience of representing the country at different level as well as playing in top-flight football. 

Moreno is likely to go with a 4-3-3 formation with Reza, Kesto Kumar, Arup Baidya and Shakil Ahmed standing in the backline. Midfielders Emon Babu and either of Shahedul Alam of Mashuk Mia Jonny will play ahead of holding midfielder Atiqur Rahman while Aminur Rahman Sajib, Rubel Mia and Yousuf Sifat or Toklish Ahmed are likely to play upfront.

Reza believes the squad, which is a mixture of junior and senior players, is balanced one and the winning mentality among the players is the biggest advantage for them.

Bahrain, who are the top favourites on paper, kept their feet on the ground after being eliminated from the group stages of the last edition, and they have set their initial target of advance to the semifinals.

“We came here with only one week's preparation and we could not even bring some players for exams, but the players accompanying the squad are talented enough and they are playing in the first division in Bahrain,” said Bahrain's head coach Marjan Eid at the pre-match conference.