BD seek draw against Cyprus

Bangladesh will take on Cyprus today in a UEFA-financed U-15 Youth International Tournament in Buriram, Thailand from which they hope to gather experience.

The boys in red and green went on to compete in the four-nation tournament after winning the SAFF U-15 Championship early in November. However, the Bangladesh Football Federation had initially thought against sending the team in fear of embarrassment at the hands of Cyprus and Thailand, who are considered as stronger sides compared to opponents in the South Asian region.

Before their departure, coach Anwar Parvez Babu had said that he wanted to secure a draw against Cyprus as he had no idea about the county's team. He does, however, believe that there is little difference between youth teams of different nations.

After yesterday's training session, Babu said, “The players got a better idea about the ground and weather condition here after training today (Sunday). Cyprus is a European side and played some tournaments before coming here.

“However, we are looking forward to enjoying our games and we will try to learn something new from this prestigious tournament.”

Bangladesh will next face Thailand and Maldives on December 12 and 14 respectively.