U-19s hope to end 14 years of waiting

The Bangladesh U-19 football team will leave for Dushanbe today to take part in the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers with the aim of qualifying for the finals after 14 years.

The Bangladesh U-19 team has played the finals of the tournament six times -- in 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1996 and 2002 -- but since their last appearance, the boys in red and green have been unable to cross the qualifying stage for the past seven editions.

However there is hope of making it to the finals this time around after the boys put up scintillating performances in the SAFF U-18 Championship, where they won three of four matches and finished as runners-up despite finishing on equal points with champions Nepal.

A total of 41 nations, split into 10 groups, will play the qualification round and the group champions along with five best runners-up will join host nation Tajikistan in the 16-team final round to be held next year.

Bangladesh were drawn in Group B alongside four-time semifinalists Uzbekistan, hosts Tajikistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives and coach Mahabub Hossain Roxy said that they would be looking to secure a place in the finals.

"Our main target is to qualify for the final round but we will definitely try to improve upon our performances in the SAFF Championship last month," Mahabub said at a press conference yesterday.

"The first match against Tajikistan is very important for us. If we can beat them or draw then the possibility of qualifying for the finals will be brightened as we will get four more days before taking on a strong Uzbekistan side in our penultimate game," Mahabub continued, adding that his side were optimistic of beating Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The team's result in the SAFF U-18 Championship was unexpected as they entered the regional championship without any hopes and little training, but they showed their potential after coming from three goals down to beat India 4-3 in their opening match.

The performances were possible because of the inclusion of a group of youths who have been playing in the country's top-tier Bangladesh Premier League. Striker Jafar Iqbal had some brilliant performances in that tournament and scored in all four matches so the focus this time will understandably be on the Chittagong Abahani forward.

However, the Bangladesh U-19 team got only nine days to prepare for the Qualifying Round as the players were busy with their engagements in the professional football league. They played just one warm up match, defeating Saif SC U-19 5-0.

Mahabub was a bit concerned over the chilly conditions in Tajikistan and believed that coping with the weather would be the main challenge for his boys, who will get three days of training before facing off against the hosts.

Mahabub has made some changes to the side by bringing in four new players including striker Faisal Ahmed Fahim, who had won the golden boot in the SAFF U-15 Championship with seven goals. He is expected to pair up with Jafar up top in the starting eleven.

Fixtures

October 31: Bangladesh vs Tajikistan 

November 2: Bangladesh vs Maldives

November 6: Bangladesh vs Uzbekistan

November 8: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka