The Bangladesh Under-19 national football team will face Pakistan today to find out if they can confirm their place in the AFC U-19 Championship next year as one of the best runners-up sides.
Bangladesh are gunning for one of the six best runners-up spots up for grabs in the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers at the Francouse Al-Hareeri Stadium in Iraq.Bangladesh suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat in their Group C opener against hosts Iraq before returning to winning ways against Kuwait courtesy a narrow 1-0 victory on Thursday.
A win against Pakistan today will enable Bangladesh to finish second in the group, with Iraq likely to finish top after their final game against Kuwait.
The six best runners-up sides will join the nine group champions in the AFC U-19 Championship next year, scheduled to be hosted by Myanmar.
Bangladesh will be missing the services of their two most important midfielders – captain Hemanta Vincent and Mezbah Ahmed due to suspension. Hemanta received a red card in the match against Kuwait while Mezbah has picked up two consecutive yellow cards.
Head coach Rene Koster, however, brushed aside the concern regarding the suspensions of their midfielders and was confident of a victory against rivals Pakistan.
‘We will miss two very good players in midfield but our team will hopefully play well to beat Pakistan. I promise everyone, we
will play our better game,’ said the Dutch coach on Friday.
‘Pakistan are a very strong team but they were unlucky in their previous two games and this is their last chance to gain three points in the qualifiers. So we know that they will try hard to win against us,’ Koster warned his side ahead of the crucial clash.
Koster went on to praise the local Bangladeshi fans, who have been vocal with their support throughout the tournament.
‘The local Bangladeshis who live in Erbil gave us good support and we are very happy to make them proud. Not only the people who live here but also the ones who live in Bangladesh,’ said Koster.
The match will start at 4:00 pm, Bangladesh time.
-With New Age input
