Bangladesh face Kyrgyzstan U-23 team tomorrow

DHAKA – Bangladesh will take on Kyrgyzstan U-23 team in the first match of the Tri-Nation Cup scheduled to be held tomorrow (Tuesday) at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.

The match kicks off at 5.30 pm (NST), under the flood light.

Though Kyrgyzstan U-23 are probably the best side of the tournament but coach Jamie Day and his Co. are upbeat to make a good start in the opening match because Zico-Ashraful and Co. think that winning the first match of the tournament will pave their way to play the final match in the tournament.

Team’s head coach Jamie Day however is viewing the tournament as an opportunity to test his team ahead of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

The English coach earlier said it is a good platform for the players to prove themselves because Nepal is close to Bangladesh in the FIFA rankings and in terms of technique, Kyrgyzstan is a probably better side in the competition, but this tournament is a good platform to see players.

Some faces have been included in the team for the tri nation cup and they are eagerly waiting to make their debut in the tomorrow’s first match against Kyrgyzstan.

Before the first match, the booters are busy to correct their mistakes in the training session and the coach finalized the 23-member squad.

Tomorrow’s first match against Kyrgyzstan will bear a great significance for Bangladesh because if Bangladesh win the first match, it will be easy for the boys of red and green to go to the final, and if Bangladesh loses the match, it will not be easy for them to fight back in the second match against Nepal, who are always favorite at home.

So the main battle of the tournament will be held between Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan in the tomorrow’s opening match because hope will almost end for playing final if any team lose the opening match. Then they must have to win the second match against Nepal which will be quite tough task for both Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan teams.

Meanwhile, the football governing body All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has completed all preparations to host the tournament successfully and it hopes that the tournament will help bring Nepali football back to normal following a long break due to Covid-19.

ANFA will sell tickets for 12,000 spectators at the 15,000-seater capacity stadium. The tickets prices are 1,500 for VIP stand and 700 for general stand (Nepali rupee).

Before the first match, Bangladesh team went through their official training session this afternoon at the match venue.

The coach focused on match-related practice and set pitch during the practice session.

The team is boosted as skipper Jamal Bhuyan joined the team’s practice session today.

Meanwhile, ANFA declared the Three Nations Cup champion price money with the winners’ and runners-up to bag prizes of $5,000 and $3,000 respectively while the best player will have $500. The man-of-the-match of each game will get $250.BSS