U-16s up against UAE
The Bangladesh under-16 football team will be hoping to take inspiration from the U-18 boys' and the U-16 girls' teams when they begin their AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers campaign with a game against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Qatar today.
The match will start at 7:45pm (BST) at the Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha.
The under-16 girls' team ended their AFC Women's Championship campaign with a lot of positivity after putting up brave fights against Australia and Japan while the youth side started the SAFF U-18 Championship with an impressive performance, posting an incredible win over India.
Hence, a similar spirited performance is expected from the U-16 team against UAE even though it would be a tough challenge for the U-16 team, who have never posted a win through three editions since Bangladesh's first appearance in 2009.
Incidentally Bangladesh U-16 team had suffered a 1-6 defeat against UAE in the last edition of this championship two years ago, just days after lifting the title of the SAFF U-16 Championship.
The charges of Anwar Parvez were also impressive in this year's SAFF U-15 Championship as they posted effortless wins over Sri Lanka and Bhutan, but were eliminated by Nepal in the semifinals.
Now they are up against much stronger sides – UAE, Yemen and Qatar – with the target of showing their potential at the continental level.
“The boys have earned some experience playing the SAFF U-15 Championship and they have also prepared for the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers. Now I want them to play according to their standard and give their hundred percent in every match,” said the coach.
“The boys have been given an idea about the way UAE plays and we want them to play according to their worth and avail opportunities from counter attacks,” added Parvez.
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