Home ›› 12 Sep 2022 ›› Sport
Bangladesh Under-17 national football team are currently in Sri Lanka awaiting their semi-final clash against a familiar foe in India at the Colombo Racecourse today.
Paul Smalley’s boys are in great spirits as they are in a goal-scoring frenzy, netting 10 goals in their first two matches. Bangladesh won both group-stage matches and go into the semi-final unbeaten.
A feisty contest awaits as Bangladesh and India in recent times have encountered each other in several tight contests, including the recently concluded U20 SAFF Championship in July, when Bangladesh lost 5-2 in the grand finale.
A confident Bangladesh captain, Imran Khan, revealed that they hope of meeting India in the final as they were looking forward to beating them and bringing a trophy to Bangladesh.
“I said before the tournament that we want India in the finals but we are going to face them in the semis. We are hopeful about beating India and going to the final,” he said.
“We watched the match between India and Nepal and studied their strengths and weaknesses. We have worked on that in training. We are ready to face them. Each and every player wants to beat India and go into the final,” he added.
Forward Mirajul Islam, who scored a hattrick in Bangladesh’s second game against Maldives, is hoping for more goals against India as well. The striker also said that they were eager to face India and were happy to get them in the semis.
“We are very happy to get India. We wanted them in the final but have to face them in the semis,” he said.
“My target is to score goals. My teammates have supported me well and I hope they will continue to do so. We want to beat India, win the final, and bring back the trophy to Bangladesh.
Head coach and technical director of Bangladesh, Paul Smalley, admitted that there is always that pressure of expectations whenever Bangladesh faces off against India but said that it was something that the players must deal with.
“There’s always pressure, there’s always a little bit of adversity, high expectations but the players have got to cope with it. I don’t see any problem with that. The players are just looking forward to playing against India,” he said.
“We watched the game against Nepal and India. We have put in two good performances so far. We are looking forward to the semi-final against our arch-rival India,” he added.
It’s been a positive week for Bangladesh teams as the U20 side drew 0-0 against Bahrain in the Asian Football Council Cup 2023 Qualifiers on Sunday.
