The national football team returned to Dhaka on Sunday after their week-long tour of Thailand, where they played two practice matches against the local sides as part of their preparation for September’s SAFF Championship in Nepal.
Bangladesh fell to a 2-1 defeat against Thai club Osotspa Saraburi FC in their first practice match but managed a 1-0 win over the Thai U-19 national team in the second.
Bangladesh captain Mamunul Islam was happy with the tour and stressed the importance of practice matches ahead of big competitions.
‘Before taking part in any tournament, preparation tours like this are important for us. I think it will help us at the SAFF Championship,’ he said.
‘Forgetting the results, both practice matches were important to help us adopt the tactics and style [head] coach [Lodewijk de Kruif] wants to implement.’
Mamunul noted that his team had dominated possession in both matches but mistakes had cost them against Osotspa Saraburi.
The midfielder also observed that the team’s attacking players, including him, needed more preparation to start creating and taking chances more consistently.
‘If we could play two more practice matches we would have improved on the mistakes we made in the two matches [that were played], but overall I would say it was a good preparation camp in Thailand.’
Head coach Lodewijk de Kruif did not return with the team, instead he flew to the Netherlands for personal reasons.
The Dutchman is scheduled to be back in Dhaka within a week and is expected to come with the specialist goalkeeping coach he demanded last month, according to Bangladesh Football Federation vice-president Kazi Nabil Ahmed. The new coach is to be given a two-month contract.
Assistant coach Rene Koster will run the national camp until De Kruif returns.
-With New Age input
