Bangladesh’s U-23 football team is currently holding a training camp in Bahrain. This camp has been organised ahead of the upcoming AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers. In the first preparation match, played behind closed doors without spectators, Bangladesh lost 1-0 to the Bahrain U-23 team. However, despite the defeat, the players’ comments reflected a positive tone, with the main focus now being on identifying areas for improvement.
The U-23 Asian Cup tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia early next year. Before that, Bangladesh’s opponents in the qualifiers include hosts Vietnam, Singapore, and Yemen. According to the rules, the 11 group winners and the four best runners-up will qualify for the main tournament. Therefore, the red and green team’s preparation for the tough challenges in Vietnam is quite intense.
The Bangladesh team will remain in Bahrain from 14 to 26 August. During this period, they will play two friendly matches against the Bahrain U-23 team. Although they lost the first match, they still have one more game left. The team hopes to correct their mistakes in that match.
After the match, forward Mirajul Islam said, “We played quite well, but there were quite a few mistakes in our game which the coach will explain to us. Hopefully, we can fix those and perform better in the next match.”
He added in his comments, the coach Saifur Bari Titu is pleased with their performance, and these preparation matches will be helpful for the team ahead of the qualifiers. “We have a goal for the Vietnam qualifiers. We want to sharpen ourselves with the match on the 22nd and show that improvement in Vietnam,” said Miraj.
Assistant coach Hasan Al Mamun was also optimistic about the match. He said, “We tried to give everyone a chance to play today and we succeeded in observing all players. We have made a plan and are following it. Since we have assessed everyone, now we are working on the weak areas. I hope we will do better going forward. I am quite happy with today’s performance.”
Two young players of Bangladeshi descent made their debut in this match. Left-back Zayan Ahmed started in the first eleven for the first time, and Tanil Salik came on as a substitute in the second half. They played with great enthusiasm in their debut.
After the match, Zayan said, “Assalamu Alaikum, we did quite well in the first match against Bahrain. We had 3-4 very good chances. We should have won the match. Our squad is strong, and everyone is working hard. For my debut, I would rate myself 7.5 out of 10. Maybe I could have assisted once. For the whole team’s performance, I would give an 8 out of 10.”
Bangladesh will face Bahrain again on 22 August. Meanwhile, coach Titu and his assistants will try to correct the players’ mistakes. Then on 29 August, the Bangladesh team will head directly to Vietnam, where the real battle awaits in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.