Room for optimism ahead of Qatar tie

The national team footballers were worried ahead of their international friendlies against Nepal last month, especially as it would be their return to action after an eight-month layoff due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, having won one and drawn one against Nepal and then getting in two more warm-up matches in Doha, they are physically and mentally more assured ahead of tomorrow's World Cup qualifier against hosts Qatar tomorrow.

Ahead of the Nepal friendlies, the players were worried about fitness, which did not appear to be in great shape after seven months without group training due to the suspension of all sports activities in mid-March.

To their credit, the players and coaching staff did not sit idly by. They sweated it out at home for months through core training programmes prescribed by Jamie Day but with only 20 days of training before the first match against Nepal, there were still some concerns. Ultimately, they overcame Nepal with a 2-0 win in the first game and a goalless draw in the second.

The men in red and green also faced stiff away challenges in Doha during their practice matches against amateur side Qatar Army and second division side Lusail Sports Club, losing the matches 3-2 and 1-0 respectively.

The biggest challenge for Bangladesh will be contending with their Qatari counterparts' superior strength and physical condition. Qatar's domestic competition began in early September and their national team has played three international friendlies against Ghana, Costa Rica and South Korea.

"The fitness levels of the players have improved massively," assistant coach Stuart Watkiss told The Daily Star from Qatar. "You only get truly match-fit by playing competitive matches, but unfortunately we have still not played nearly enough [to reach the fitness levels we need to]," Watkiss said. "Qatar's players have played many matches, so they have an advantage in terms of fitness."

Qatar not only have the edge in fitness, the defending Asian Cup champions are 59th in the FIFA Rankings, 125 places ahead of Bangladesh (184).

Given the circumstances, Bangladesh will be expected to defend well and counterattack on the fast surface at the Al Khalifa Stadium.

"Of course we focused on defending in training because we are playing against a really strong team. It will be important to pass the ball well and try to get some control of the game. We know this will be a difficult game but we will all do our very best," said head coach Day, who left for Qatar yesterday after testing negative for Covid-19.

In the two practice matches in Qatar, the players were punished for familiar mistakes, especially when it came to decision-making. They also did not appear to have the kind of rhythm that played a key role in good performances against India and Qatar last year.

The positive is that they are fully-focused on Qatar, having banished any worries of the effects of a lengthy layoff, and are further buoyed because they have nothing to lose against the Asian champions.