Hosts Nepal played out a goalless draw with Kyrgyzstan U-23 in the tri-nationtournament at Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu on Thursday. TheGorkhalis bagged one point from their opening encounter while The White Falconsearned the same point from two matches.
Bangladesh, who handed a 1-0 defeat toKyrgyzstan U-23 on last Wednesday in the tournament opener. Nepal will faceBangladesh in their final group phase fixture on Saturday.
If the match becomesdraw the hosts will move to final or the Gorkhalis lost to, the Red and Green, then Kyrgyzstan have a chance to play in the final.
The equationis very tough for the two teams. Bangladesh moved into final and today’sencounter is totally less important for the Jamie Day and co.
Bangladesh have a goodchance to improve themselves, find out their lacking, and try to solve theirproblems.
Earlier, Bangladesh coach Jamie Day said, “We will make some changes in the
playing eleven against Nepal. We must play attacking football against the hostsand try to win the game. It is our practice match and we must find out the lacking of the team. ”
“Nepal is very stronger this time. Last time, five or six players didn’t travel to Bangladesh. They will have home support as well. Home advantage is a great opportunity for the Gorkhalis,” said the coach.
Bangladesh, however, suffered a big blow as their key defender Bishwanath Ghosh ruled out of the tournament with a serious muscle injury. Bishwanath left the field on a stretcher on the 70th minute of the game and he returned to Dhaka on last Wednesday.
“We got his MRI report and he has a big injury in his muscle. Doctors suggest him at least two-week rest,” said team manager Iqbal Hossain.On the other hand, Nepal coach Bal Gopal Maharjan expect to win overBangladesh and hope the team will get ticket to final in the tri-nation tournament. The team cannot show their best perform against Kyrgyzstan U-23. Striker and forward cannot score, that was a big failure of the team.Nepal lost two friendly encounters to Bangladesh in 2020.
“Bangladesh is a very strong team and it will be very tough to beat them. If we properly use our chance in the field, so, we can win the game,” said Maharjan.
“We lost two friendly outings against Bangladesh. We learned a good lesson from those proceedings. I hope the team will not the same mistake again,” he added.