Bangladesh await Palestine

Bangladesh will face Palestine today in their first match of the ‘Three Nations Cup’ at Kyrgyzstan. The other two teams in the tournament are hosts Kyrgyzstan and their Olympic team.

The Bangladesh team practised at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on Saturday ahead of their match on Sunday.

Palestine are ranked 102 in the FIFA rankings, 86 steps ahead of Bangladesh. The last time Bangladesh faced Palestine was in 2020 where the Palestinians won by a comfortable 2-0 margin. In the five meetings between the sides, Bangladesh have never won with four defeats and one draw.

Bangladesh head coach Jamie Day understands the difference in strength between the sides but still believes that it will be a good test for his players.

“We are looking forward to tomorrow’s match. The boys have trained really well in the last 3-4 days. We know Palestine are a very good, strong, powerful side. It’s going to be a difficult match. They are ranked 90 (86) spaces above us. It’s a game we are looking forward to, we know it’s going to be tough, and it’s going to be a good test for the players,” the British coach said.

Bangladesh is playing in this tournament as their preparation for the SAFF Championship coming up in October, and Day will test out all his players in the ‘Three Nations Cup’.

“It’s three games where we might try some different tactics and formats to see if we can have another option of playing going into SAFF. We know these games are preparations for the SAFF tournament. So we might change tactics in all three games to see if we can play another way. But also change personnel to make sure that everyone gets game time,” Day said.

Bangladesh have four new players in the squad in goalkeeper Mitul Maruma, defender Atiquzzaman and two non-resident Bangladeshis in Tahmid Islam and Rahbar Wahed Khan. Jamie said that it’s not sure that one of them will make their debut on Sunday, but they will have some game time over the three matches.

“All players will play a game over the three matches. So everyone will get a chance to experience international football. That’s why we are having these games. So those players will get an opportunity. That might not be tomorrow, but they will play at some stage,” he added.

Bangladesh skipper Jamal Bhuyan said they are working on tactics and already know Palestine’s strengths and weaknesses.

“We have seen the match between Palestine and Kyrgyzstan. We have seen Palestine’s strengths and weaknesses. We are discussing these with the coach. We have worked on our tactics,” Jamal said.

Jamal is also eyeing the matches at Kyrgyzstan as practice matches for the SAFF Championship, and he believes that this period is vital.

“The matches against Palestine and Kyrgyzstan are practice games ahead of the SAFF games. It’s less than a month away, so we don’t have much time. So this time is vital. We have to work on our tactics and where we need to improve,” he said.