BD-Pak preview: Fierce Rivalry on the Card
Dhaka, June 28: Bangladesh coach Nikola Ilievski expressed full confidence to beat Pakistan in the pre-World Cup qualifier scheduled to be held at Bangabandhu National Stadium at 6:00 pm on Wednesday.
The new Macedonian head coach of Bangladesh opted for an attacking brand of football selecting no less than six attackers in his starting eleven. Biplob, the skipper is the first choice custodian while Nasir, Rezaul, Mishu and Ariful are the four defenders, the midfield will comprise Raju, Mamunul Islam, Jahid and Shakil while Emily and Mithun will the two forward in the 4-4-2 formation.
‘I got only two days to prepare and I did not have enough time to get a deep look into the team, but I have every believe that Bangladesh have the capability to beat Pakistan in the home ground” said the Macedonion.
Skipper Biplob wiped away any apprehension of not gelling as a unit. “All the players know each other and we have been playing for a long time together, we just need to get set in the field, we hope to beat Pakistan as we have the superiority in the recent past and we have the perfect team spirit” said Biplob.
Pakistan coach Tarik Lutfi however was also confident to deal the fire with fire. “We have practiced for near one month focusing upon this match, we have got a number of U-23 players and the experienced players, in the last few years we lacked the attacking flair but this team has got it and I am confident of a win against Bangladesh tomorrow” said Tarik Lutfi.
Skipper Jaffer Khan thought they have good a chance of winning the first leg. “The team is spirited and all the players are eager to win it displaying the best performance” said the Jaffer.
The head to head statistics say both the team has won six times and drawn the other two in the 14 meetings till date.