Pressure is on India: Bhuiyan
Bangladesh coach Jamie Day had surprisingly announced that he that he would play for a win at home against Asian champions Qatar but the 39-year-old tempered expectations on the eve of the joint qualifier for the World Cup and Asian Cup against India at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata today.
Day may be familiar with the rivalry between the neighbouring countries, which gives India a clear edge in terms of results. Bangladesh have only beaten India thrice, with the last victory coming about 16 years ago in the 2003 SAFF Championship in Dhaka when Bangladesh won 2-1 in the semifinal. On the other hand, Bangladesh have lost 12 games in the 25 meeting between the two sides since 1978. 10 others were drawn.
“If a match is on our home ground, I want to win. But it is being played in India so they have the advantage,” Day told a packed pre-match press conference yesterday. “They played well against Qatar and have confidence. We need to do well defensively and not concede early in front of what will possibly be a strong crowd. We need to be solid and stand against them as long as possible and take our chances.”
Although the British coach did not proclaim that Bangladesh could win the match, his charges have had good experiences against the fast-improving India, who needed to come from behind to draw their last two matches against Bangladesh -- one in the 2013 SAFF Championship in Nepal and the other in a FIFA friendly in 2014. Sunil Chhetri struck the equaliser on both occasions.
Asked if Bangladesh could break their 16-year jinx against India, Day said: “If you look at the history of Bangladesh and India over the past, India have improved massively in domestic football which helped their national team. We competed against Qatar very well and if we do so again -- if we can perform at that level -- it will be a very close match. India also have to play well. If we play well, then we have a chance to get a result. If we don’t play well, India win. But it’s going to be a tough game. If we get one or three points, it will be good result for us.”
This group in this team have been under Day for nearly a year-and-a-half and showed their character against Qatar with a good team effort. That will bolster confidence in the fight against India, who come into the match on the back of a goalless draw against Qatar.
Midfielder Jamal Bhuiyan, who played tremendously against Qatar and Afghanistan, believes India will feel the pressure to perform.
“We don’t have pressure. The pressure is on India because they have to play at home. If they don’t perform well, the spectators will turn against them. I will tell my players to go out there and enjoy. They may never get another chance to play in front of a big crowd and collect three points.”
Jamal had previously said that his team would have a good chance against India by exposing their weaknesses in defence. At the same time, he and his teammates will be tasked with stopping the prolific striker Chhetri, who is fit to play against Bangladesh after missing the match against Qatar.
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