Eleta in 26-man Bangladesh squad for SAFF Championship
Bashundhara Kings striker Eleta Kingsley has been included in the 26-man squad of Bangladesh for the upcoming SAFF Championship, to begin on October 1 in the Maldives.
Nigeria-born footballer Eleta, who received his Bangladeshi passport in June this year, has been included in the national side for the first time.
Eleta, however, is yet to receive clearance from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in order to be eligible to play for the Bangladesh national side.
Spanish coach Oscar Bruzon, who is also the head coach of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champions Bashundhara Kings, will be in charge of Bangladesh in SAFF Championship after the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) relieved Jamie Day of his duties for the next two months.
Bruzon's squad include a total of 10 Bashundhara Kings players, most from any club, and five from Abahani Limited. The final squad will be trimmed down to 23 members for the championship.
"We've decided on 26 players and before going to Maldives the list is going to have 23. We will go with 4-3-3 formation to give continuity to what we have done at Bashundhara Kings. I feel that the players are going to adjust quick as some of them have also played against Bashundhara. We're going to challenge them through the training sessions and this is the only way that the players need to show day by day that they can take the pressure of the national team and fight for their place. We want to take their best so that when the match day comes, they are fully ready to understand what is the new Bangladesh team," Bruzon said at a press conference today.
Bangladesh will begin their SAFF Championship campaign against Sri Lanka on the opening day. Bruzon's charges will then face India on October 4 before playing hosts and defending champions Maldives on October 7. Bangladesh will play Nepal in their final game of the league stage on October 13.
Squad: Anisur Rahman (GK), Bishwanath Ghosh (DF), Topu Barman (DF), Tariq Kazi (DF), Biplo Ahamed (FW), Mahbuibur Rahman (FW), Mohammad Ibrahim (FW), Eleta Kingsley (FW), MD Matin Miah (FW), Mohammad Atiqur Rahman (MF), Sahidul Alam (GK), Sohel Rana (MF), Saad Uddin (MF), Jewel Rana (FW), Tutul Hossain (DF), Rahmat Mia (DF), Riyadul Hasan (DF), Yeasin Arafat (DF), Jamal Bhuiyan (MF), Rakib Hossain (MF), Manik Hossain Molla (MF), Razaul Karim (DF), Mohammad Atikuzzaman (DF), Ashraful Islam Rana (GK), Mehedi Hasan (DF), Suman Reza (FW).