Will booters be underdone for Qatar?
Amid preparations for the FIFA international friendlies against Nepal next week, Bangladesh's nod to Qatar's proposal to play their World Cup Qualifying match in early December has prompted questions about the wisdom of the move as the away match against much stronger opposition could be very tough due to inadequate preparation.
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has agreed to play the World Cup Qualifier against Qatar on December 4 after the 2022 World Cup hosts verbally asked Bangladesh early this month to play the match separate from the schedule of the qualifiers, which were deferred to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nothing has been finalised yet as Qatar is trying to get the final approval from FIFA and AFC to host Bangladesh. The FIFA provision allows member associations to hold the World Cup Qualifying fixture if the pandemic permits and both teams agree to play.
Not even the most optimistic football fan in Bangladesh would expect a win over Asian Champions Qatar but they will certainly hope for another good show against Qatar, similar to what the boys in red and green put up in a 0-2 defeat at home last year.
There were reasons for the good fight as the booters were at the peak of their form just after finishing the 2018-19 seasons and British coach Jamie Day had also gotten enough time to form a good combination, which was further fine-tuned with two international friendlies against Bhutan.
But, this time around, the players have been out of action for seven months before being assembled on September 23 under local coaches for the Nepal friendlies. Jamie has worked for just nine days with the booters and is working hard to get the players' fitness levels back to a satisfactory level ahead of the November 13 and 17 friendlies against Nepal.
On the other hand, Qatar have been far ahead in terms of preparation as they have started their QBN Star League in early September with some 30 matches already being played, while the top two clubs are also gearing up for the final of the Amir Cup.
Besides, they have started their U-23 league four weeks ago and the Qatar national team have already played an international friendly against Ghana early last month and are scheduled to play two FIFA friendlies against Costa Rica and South Korea on November 13 and 17 respectively in Australia.
"We are thinking of the Nepal friendlies and not the Qatar match, which has not been confirmed. My focus is to play two friendly matches at home right now. If the Qatar match is given the go-ahead, then we will have good preparation in November," said Jamie. "It will be a tough game because it's an away match. So, if we play [against Qatar], we will prepare as much as we can and we will go with enough training and try to get in more practice matches before the Qatar match."
BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag said they have consulted with Jamie, the technical department and some top clubs before giving their nod to Qatar.
"Our team is ready and have been practising and will play two friendlies against Nepal. So, we have agreed to the Qatar proposal after consulting with head coach Jamie Day, the BFF technical department and four top clubs. Qatar also agreed to arrange a practice match before the tie on December 4," said Shohag, adding Qatar will communicate their final decision within this week.
One of the national players, seeking anonymity, said the condition of the team could be judged after the two friendlies and it would be better to play against Qatar in the latter part of December instead of the first week.