JAKARTA — The Bangladesh national team squad is in trouble ahead of facing the Indonesian national team. Six of their top players certainly missed the match.
Indonesia meets Bangladesh in the international tryout at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium on Wednesday, June 1 at 20.30 western Indonesia time. The absence of a number of players due to injury and suspension has left Bangladesh in a difficult position.
The six Bangladeshi players who have been ruled out are Topu Barman, Tariq Kazi, Saad Uddin, Matin Mia, Suman Reza, and Nabib Newaj Jibon. For that, coach Javier Cabrera was forced to rack his brains to get the best formation before the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Malaysia on 8 June.
"Obviously, we will take to the pitch to win the game, but our main target is to prepare ourselves for the way we play in the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifiers," said right winger Mohammad Ibrahim, reported by The Daily Star.
But Cabrera can be a little relieved because there are no injured players in the back row. He only needs to choose four suitable defenders to guard the defensive wall.
For the center-back position, Cabrera has the option of installing Tutul Hossain Badsha, Bishwanath Ghosh, or Riyadul Hasan Rafi. Meanwhile, Yeasin Arafat and Rahmat Mia are likely to play as full-backs.
Then for the midfield and wings, the 37-year-old coach also has many options. However, his choice for the attacking position is very slim because there is only Sazzad Hossain who has never played before, and Maraz Hossain who has minimal experience.
"It's not a problem for us to implement the game plan because we have already played two games under [Javier] Cabrera. So we know what our coach wants from us," said the Bashundhara Kings midfielder.
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The lack of a number of players made Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan warn his teammates. He admitted that the match against Indonesia would be a tough challenge for his team.
"All the players who are part of the team know it will be a difficult game. Indonesia is a strong team and of course tomorrow they want to win, but we will defend ourselves and I think we can compete against them and give a good result," said Jamal.
On paper, Indonesia is very favored to win in this match because Bangladesh is 29 places behind Indonesia. Currently, Bangladesh is in the 188th position, while Indonesia is in the 159th place.
This is the first meeting between the two teams since Bangladesh lost 0-1 in the Merdeka Cup in 2007. Overall, Bangladesh only won once against Indonesia in 1985 in the 1996 World Cup Qualifiers, lost four and drew one of the six meetings between the two countries.
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