Bangladesh national football team coach Lodewijk de Kruif trimmed down four footballers from the 30-member preliminary squad on Monday as Nahidul Islam,
Tapu Barman, Arup Baiddya and Yusuf Sifat failed to make the cut.
With the squad now comprising of 26 members, the Dutch head coach is still unsure over how many players will be picked for the upcoming tour of Thailand, scheduled for the end of this month.
The Thailand tour is being viewed as a warm-up event before the SAFF football championship takes place in Nepal in September.
‘These four are very promising players and they have the opportunity to play for the national team in future. They were preserved for the standby list,’ said Kruif.
Brothers Union attacking midfielder Yusuf Sifat was selected after a strong showing in the Super Cup. After losing out on the national camp, the young midfielder, however, was not that disappointed.
‘The coach’s decision is the final decision and I have nothing to say. I was picked after some good displays in the Super Cup. I grafted hard but failed to ensure my place. I will try to prove myself in domestic football in the upcoming season,’ said Sifat on Monday.
De Kruif also said that he wants to give ample time to Zahid Hossain and Sakhawat Hossain Rony to recuperate from their injuries. The duo might feature in a practice match against Arambagh Krira Sangha on Wednesday.
After the friendly against Arambagh, De Kruif will cut down another two or three names from the preliminary squad before departing for Thailand, where they will take part in two practice matches against the hosts.
Meanwhile, the national footballers are going through grueling training sessions with the Dutch coaches and physical trainer though the standard of training is gradually improving.
‘Training is slowly improving under the Dutch coaches. We are trying hard to secure the final spot and after the reduction of the squad, we will work without any mental stress,’ said defender Kesto Kumar, who impressed De Kruif during the national team’s Nepal tour for the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers.
Mohammet Yamali, the physical trainer discussed the players’ fitness level expressing his optimism that the footballers’ fitness, besides training, is also getting better.
‘Two weeks ago when I took charge, the players were standing between three or four marks out of ten, now, they have reached six or seven,’ said Yamali to the reporters.
‘After the arrival of the head coach, I have initiated our training and endurance training as per his requirements. The players are
responding well,’ he added.
Yamali was also happy with the recovery process of the two injured players, Zahid and Rony.
‘There were a number of injured players like Zahid and Rony and they are recovering well. Today
[Monday] they trained very hard and tomorrow [Tuesday] they will join the group and go through weight and power training. I hope they can play the match on Wednesday [against Arambagh].
‘The general view of the players is that they are fit for the first 60 minutes. I will have to work hard with the players for the last 30 minutes and I have already started the endurance program, which will also continue in Thailand,’ said the Dutch physical trainer.
‘I can’t make the players long and strong. What I can do is that I can try to increase the stamina and strength and it is not possible to do it in only two weeks because it is a long-term process and I am working on it,’ said Yamali.
The 26-member preliminary squad
Goalkeepers: Biplob Bhattacharjee, Mamun Khan, Shahidul Islam Sohel, Ziaur Rahman.
Defenders: Ariful Islam, Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, Md. Linkon, Rezaul Karim, Yamin Munna, Kesto Kumar, Wali Faisal, Atiqur Rahman Meshu, Raihan Hasan.
Midfielders: Mamunul Islam, Pranotosh Kumar, Jamal Bhuiyan, Omar Faruque Babu, Mithun Chowdhury, Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan, Mezbabul Haque Manik, Zahid Hossain, Sohel Rana.
Strikers: Zahid Hasan Ameli, Sakhawat Hossain Rony, Toklis Ahmed, Wahed Ahmed.
-With New Age input
