The Bangladesh national football team players played a practice match splitting into two teams, the Bangladesh Football Federation blue and green, at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Saturday.
Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited’s Wahed Ahmed struck the winning goal one minute before the final whistle to help BFF Blue beat BFF Green 1-0 in the match. Dutch head coach Lodewijk de Kruif observed the practice match which was divided into four segments, each part comprising of 20 minutes.
‘I was happy to see them together and the boys are trying hard to ensure their places in the final squad but in the last part of the game, I saw the players were struggling for lack of their fitness. We have to work on it,’ said the Dutch coach.
Kruif was satisfied with the performance of expatriate midfielder Jamal Bhuiyan, who came from Denmark.
‘I saw his style of playing is very good and his physical shape is also better. I hope he will perform well in the future,’ he added.
‘I did not give them any instructions about how they will play. I only assessed them to whittle down the squad to 23 from 34,’ Kruif told reporters after the practice match.
Meanwhile, Rezaul Karim and Mintu Sheikh refused to join the national team camp due to personal reasons and injury respectively.
The national side will face a local XI in a practice match on Wednesday, informed a team official on Saturday.
-With New Age input
