Who will wear the gloves?

With the Joint Qualifiers for the World Cup and the Asian Cup only three days away, the jury is still out on who will stand underneath the sticks for the Bangladesh team. Two of the three goalkeepers in the squad -- Sheikh Jamal shot-stopper Mazharul Islam Himel and Sheikh Russel custodian Rasel Mahmud Liton -- are the clear frontrunners as first-time called-up Ashraful Islam Rana hasn't yet earned a cap with the national team. But it is close call between Liton and Himel, both of whom have been handed the gloves and have seen taken them off quite a few times in the past one year.

Goalkeeping coach Christian Scweichler, who has been working with the goalkeeper in phases since the middle of March, did not give any clear indication as to whether there is a clear favourite, but outlined some criteria as regards to the job.

“We have seen both positive and negative signs from Liton and Himel. I won't name any name as to who might play in these two matches, but I can say that we will go for a goalkeeper who is confident and aggressive and who can sense danger and doesn't hesitate to come out of his blocks,” said the German after the team's practice session on Saturday.

Himel, who wore the national jersey for the first time during the Bangabandhu Gold after an excellent campaign with Sheikh Jamal DC last year, recently played in the May 30 friendly against Singapore. His performance was not entirely convincing and he was partly blamed for one of the two goals Bangladesh conceded in that match.

Liton, on the other hand, has earned more caps since his debut with the under-23 team against Nepal last year. But his place came under heavy scrutiny after the opening match of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup against Malaysia under-23 team, and has since been used sparingly. However, his performance in the most-recent friendly against Afghanistan on June 2 may provide some hope for the think-tank.

Schweichler says he was impressed with the way Liton kept against Afghanistan, especially the way he charged down and gripped a corner kick under pressure from the Afghanistan forwards during the fag end of the match. But the German also thinks there are areas that need to be worked on for both the keepers.

“What I have seen with these goalkeepers is that during set-piece situations they commit too early, even before the free-kick taker takes the kick, which is why they often go the wrong way. I'm trying to get this thing into their mind that they need to observe which way the free-kick taker picks and then commit,” said Sheichler.

The German goalkeeper also feels that whoever stands under the bar should have the respect of the fellow outfield players.

“I think the outfield players don't show much respect to goalkeepers here. But inside and around the penalty box, the goalkeeper should always the boss and the defenders should always listen to his instructions which unfortunately does not happen here,” added the German.