‘Excited to play but worried about the result’
Despite having played two FIFA-sanctioned international friendlies after three weeks of preparation, the fitness of footballers remains a concern and the last-minute withdrawal of in-form striker Nabib Newaj Jibon caused further complications for the Bangladesh national team ahead of their World Cup and Asian Cup Qualifier against Qatar on December 4.
The boys in red and green left for Doha yesterday morning without Manjurur Rahman Manik, who returned a positive Covid-19 test, and Abahani striker Jibon, who was ruled out after sustaining a right-knee injury during Tuesday's second international friendly against Nepal. He was subsequently given a four-week rest.
Jibon was arguably the best performer in the two friendlies against Nepal, netting one of Bangladesh's two goals in the first game and thriving as a No. 10 behind debutant striker Suman Reza.
He had also performed well in the 1-1 draw against India last October and his intelligent movement in the Nepal friendlies gave Bangladesh hope that a fitter Jibon may have caused some trouble for Qatar, although not even the most optimistic of Bangladesh's followers are thinking of an upset against the Asian Champions after losing reverse fixture at home 2-0.
Most expect that Bangladesh will opt for a defensive strategy in order to thwart Qatar's formidable attack and that there will be little room for attacking players to shine. In that case, Jibon's exclusion would have little impact on Bangladesh's performance and Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, who is expected to step in, could do the same job.
However, left-back Rahmat Mia has a different view about the tie.
"Actually, the backline should be bold against Qatar and the forwards should also avail the opportunities they get during the match. It is a big problem if the strikers can't hit the target regardless of how many times the defenders stop the Qatari forwards. The absence of strikers like Jibon and Matin Mia will be felt; we will certainly miss them," Rahmat told The Daily Star yesterday before leaving the country.
"We all are not fully fit yet but the team is in high spirits and everyone is positive. I believe we can overcome the deficiency in our fitness levels over the next two weeks. The backline kept two clean sheets in the past two matches and we will try to carry that momentum into the Qatar match.
"We are excited to play in Qatar after a long break due to the sudden suspension of the World Cup Qualifiers but we are also worried about the result because we are going to play such a match after a long gap."