Focus on stopping Qatar
When the Bangladesh Under-23 team tamed their illustrious Qatari counterparts 1-0 in August 2018 to advance to the second round of the Asian Games, there were discussions regarding the ability of the hosts of the 2022 World Cup.
Four months later, Qatar silenced their critics by clinching the prestigious title of the Asian Cup, defeat Japan 3-1 in the final.
Now, they will square up against the Bangladesh national team proper in a World Cup and Asian Cup qualifier tomorrow and the tie against the Asian champions is definitely going to be a tough challenge compared to the match at the U-23 level.
Forward Biplu Ahmed and defender Bishwanath Ghosh agreed that this clash against Qatar, who arrive on the back of a disappointing goalless draw against India, would be far more daunting.
Qatar only have two players from that U-23 squad in their senior squad while Bangladesh have 11 players from that team, of whom five are expected to start.
“The match against Qatar in the Asian Games was a different kind of challenge because we knew that a win would book our second-round berth, so we were desperate to achieve that target and, of course, to not concede. We also had chances but failed to convert them before captain Jamal Bhuiyan struck the winner in stoppage time,” said right-winger Biplu, who is expected feature in the playing eleven against Qatar.
“I think this time the match against Qatar will be more challenging as they are reigning Asian champions and will play the World Cup. The Qataris play in foreign leagues so you can understand how hard the match will be.”
However, Biplu emphasised that the booters would do their utmost to not concede.
“We will play with the same mentality to not concede and hold them as much as we can. If we hold them for the first 45 minutes, then we will grow in confidence. They will also be crazy to get goals so we will then get the chance to counter.”
Of the players who played Qatar in the Asian Games, Ashraful Islam Rana, Jamal Bhuiyan and Saad Uddin are likely to feature in the playing eleven while the others, barring Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, have been ruled out through injuries or suspension.
Ghosh has been ruled out of the game due to the bookings he received against Afghanistan and Laos, but the right-back is optimistic that the defence will be able to negotiate the challenge.
“Yeasin Khan and Raihan Hasan are experienced campaigners while Rahmat Mia and Riyadul Hasan are also performing well for the national team. I think the backline will not feel our absence,” said Ghosh. “We know our standard and their standard, so we will try to give a hundred per cent effort to produce a positive result.”
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