The Bangladesh under-23 football team will take to the pitch in Bahrain tonight for a closed-door friendly against the hosts, as part of their preparations for next month’s AFC Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers. However, they will be without key midfielder Shekh Morsalin, who is recovering from an injury.
The match, which kicks off at 9:00 pm Bangladesh time at the BFA Football Ground, is recognised as a FIFA Tier-2 international. Both teams have opted to keep the fixture behind closed doors. A second friendly between the sides is scheduled for 22 August.
Morsalin, who recently moved from Bashundhara Kings to Abahani in search of more playing time, picked up the injury during Abahani’s AFC Challenge League match against Kyrgyz club Muras United. He has not yet fully recovered.
Head coach Saiful Bari Titu confirmed the midfielder’s absence, saying, “Morsalin will probably not play this match. He had a little injury from Abahani’s AFC Challenge match. The others in the team will be there.”
The under-23s are in Bahrain for a 12-day training camp ahead of the qualifiers in Vietnam this September, where they will face the hosts along with Yemen and Singapore, all of whom are ranked higher than Bangladesh.
Coach Titu is using the two friendlies to assess and fine-tune his squad. “Perhaps playing against a strong team like Bahrain is a big opportunity for us. Through these two matches we want to build the team’s strength, chemistry and combination,” he said.
“Bahrain are as strong as Vietnam. Playing two matches against them will be a good support for our preparation. Our aim will be to check the strength of the team in every department so that we are well tested. The experience taken from here will help us in the qualifiers,” he added.
Training conditions have proved challenging, with the intense Bahraini heat forcing the team to train at night. Defender Shakil Ahad Topu said, “Our team’s preparation is very good. There was a lot of problem with the weather here. In three-four days of training we have adjusted. So I hope, tomorrow we will get a good result.”
Fellow defender Rimon Hossain echoed the concerns, noting that while the weather is similar to Bangladesh, it is still hotter in Bahrain, and the players are having to adjust.
Three expatriate players were considered for the camp, although Cuba Mitchell, based in England, was not released by Bashundhara Kings. Attention will now be on Tanil Shalik and Jayan Ahmed to see how they integrate into the squad.
Assistant coach Atiqur Rahman Mishu highlighted the team’s preparation against their opponents, saying, “We have analysed Bahrain’s two matches. We have shown the players videos, how they do high press, how they block in midfield and how they start the press from the block.”
With recent successes from the women’s national and under-20 teams, both of whom have qualified for the final rounds of the Asian Cup, expectations are rising for the men’s under-23 side. Bangladesh have only made one appearance at senior level in the Asian Cup, in 1980, and have never qualified at under-23 level.