Day pleased with fitness levels
Bangladesh coach Jamie Day was happy with the fitness levels of the national booters after the first day of training for the Joint Qualifiers of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup concluded at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Day previously said he would emphasise the players’ fitness at home before the team flies for Tajikistan on September 1 as the players returned to business after a three-week gap following the completion of the Bangladesh Premier League.
“Fitness is good. Everyone came back the way they left. They followed the programme for off-season training. They also worked hard at the club level during the league. I’m pleased to have seen them in the training and there are no problems with fitness. They are looking good and we are hoping to work more over the next two weeks to prepare the boys before the first match,” Day said after the training.
Apart from seven Abahani players, the other 19 sweated it out on the ground. Day will pick his final 23-member squad on August 31, just a day before leaving for Dushanbe to play two practice matches as well as the first match against Afghanistan.
“It is really tough to play the qualifiers of the World Cup and I think we have to give hundred per cent effort for better results,” said goalkeeper Mazharul Islam Himel, who was called in at the last moment.
“It is important to take the challenge of big matches and everyone has to take that challenge. If I can take the challenge, I think I can get chances to represent the national team,” said defender Yeasin Arafat, the youngest player in the squad.
“I’m really fortunate to have been selected for the squad at such an age because I played third division football league last year, before joining Saif SC to play in the Bangladesh Premier League. I believed that I would one day play for the national team but I never thought I could make it to the national squad immediately,” said Arafat, who has also been called up for the Bangladesh U-18 team ahead of the SAFF U-18 Championship.