Dhaka, February 5: Bangladesh lock horns with Thailand in the second semifinal of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium at 5:00 pm on Friday. 

Lodewijk de Kruik, the Dutch head coach of Bangladesh was fully aware of the situation. “Its a very important match for Bangladesh, as we have observed Thailand is a very good team, we thought Bahrain would be the best but instead Thailand arrived as the top, they are aggressive and technically and tactically good in every angle” said de Kruif. 

“We are in a good shape, the players are eager, they know what they have to achieve, they were a little nervous against Malaysia but now they are ready to take on Thailand on a new day and new match” continued de Kruif. 

Thailand coach Phomart Choktavee warned his players about the crowd pressure. “The boys are young and Bangladesh is playing in their home ground, the pressure of the crowd is a concern to me, I have talked with the players about it, if they feel scary it would be more difficult for us, we are firmly focused to win the semifinal” said Choktavee. 

Bangladesh first played against Thailand back in 1976 and till date has played 14 ties losing 9, winning two and drawing three.