‘That experience will make them a better team’
As the luxurious bus carrying the Bangladesh national football team stopped in front of the imposing iron gate in front of the Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) Sports Club, the dejected looks on the faces aboard following Thursday's self-inflicted defeat to Lebanon in the SAFF Championship became apparent.
Even when the players exited the bus after it slowly moved to a practice ground surrounded by lush vegetation, they did so with little in the way of a smile before collecting their bags. Tariq Raihan Kazi, who made a costly mistake leading to the first of two goals, entered the ground with a net full of footballs and cast it aside before all the footballers and coaching staff gathered for a team meeting.
But after Spanish coach Javiera Cabrera was done briefing the players, they erupted in applause and the atmosphere shifted completely. The players were still cheerful in the dressing room after completing a one-and-half-hour training session and it appeared they were ready to bounce back against Maldives on June 25.
Bangladesh's initial plans to realise their aim of reaching the semifinals had basically hinged on results against Maldives and Bhutan. Although their intention was to seek a point against Lebanon, a good performance was all most fans had hoped for.
Although they delivered a good performance by holding the game to a goalless draw till the 80th minute, which should have provided a big morale boost, the gut-wrenching manner of the defeat raised questions about whether the team could move on from their disappointment before the match against Maldives.
"You were that close [even to winning the match], so obviously the disappointment is bigger. And that is normal, but now is the moment to take positives from yesterday. Thinking about the result makes no sense, so I am stressing the positives," Cabrera said after training.
"It is about maintaining focus. Right now, the players should not be demoralised but instead be motivated and excited. That experience [against Lebanon] will make them a better team than the day before yesterday. And that will give us more of a chance against Maldives and get us closer to winning against them," the 38-year-old added.
"Our mentality has to be to go for a win against Maldives. Going into the pitch with the intention to get one point has no meaning. That is not how we are going to face our opponents," Cabrera emphatically said, adding that they would have to be more aware since he considers the tie a 50-50 affair.