The Bangladesh football team departed Dhaka on Sunday afternoon with the dream of beating India in the FIFA international friendly on Wednesday in Goa.
Bangladesh will draw confidence from Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, who exhibited impressive performances in the recently concluded IFA Shield in Kolkata. And it was evident in the 22-member national squad as 10 players have been drafted in from Sheikh Jamal.
National captain Mamunul Islam, who is also the skipper of the Dhanmondi-based club, expressed his hope of playing good football against India.
‘Sheikh Jamal proved that Bangladesh have many quality footballers and they have the potential of playing in the international level,’ said Mamunul adding that, ‘If we play our level best then we have a good chance of defeating India in their own soil.’
As an integral member of Sheikh Jamal, Mamunul got the taste of outsmarting two Indian giants — East Bengal and Mohun Bagan – and he said that it will provide extra motivation to him and his team mates.
‘We beat two favourite teams in the IFA Shield and it gave us a lot of confidence. Including me there are 10 players from Sheikh Jamal who are representing Bangladesh so it will help us to face India,’ said Mamunul.
Midfielder Sohel Rana performed well in the IFA Shield and now he wants to transform the momentum against India.
‘We played well in the IFA Shield which means we are capable of fighting hard against India in their own soil. Not only that, they struggled to draw with us in the SAFF Championship. So I think we will perform better against them,’ said a confident Sohel referring to the two sides’ 1-1 draw in the regional South Asian competition where India required a 95th minute equaliser from Sunil Chhetri.
Young midfielder Hemanta Vincent Biswas received a call-up to the national side for the first time and he too was optimistic of a positive display.
‘I impressed my coach [Lodewijk de Kruif] during the practice session of FC Twente in the Netherlands so he selected me in the squad for the India match. If I get the chance to play I will try to give my best in the field,’ said Vincent.
-With New Age input
