Bangladesh vs Singapore: Who could be in the squad?

Spanish coach Javier Cabrera has been in charge of the Bangladesh national football team for three and a half years. His preferred formation is 4-3-1-2, known as solid defensive formation that features three midfielders and four defenders. Cabrera, however, has been seen experimenting beyond his usual preferences in the recent time, and it is also bringing successes.

Lastly, Cabrera deployed two midfielders alongside four defenders in the international friendly match at home against Bhutan. He placed three players up front, with one as the central striker. This formation has increased the attacking potential. The Bangladesh coach also applied this commonly used 4-2-3-1 lineup against India in the Asian Cup qualifiers, and he might use the same formation today, Tuesday.

If that happens against Singapore, Cabrera might field Bashundhara Kings’ Rakib Hossain in the number nine role, with Fahmidul Islam and either Shah Kazem or Faisal Ahmed Fahim playing on the wings in the starting lineup.

However, as Shammit Som joined the team, the coach faces a pleasant dilemma regarding the midfield. Cabrera played Hamza Chowdhury and Sohel Rana as defensive midfielders, with Jamal Bhuiyan in the attacking midfield role in the match against Bhutan. Since Shammit’s arrival makes changes in the midfield inevitable, Sohel might be benched in favour of Shammit, and Shammit could replace Jamal.

Mitul Marma will almost certainly be the goalkeeper. Experienced defenders Topu Barman and Tariq Kazi might feature as center-backs. There may be changes in the right-back and left-back positions.

In the 2–0 friendly win against Bhutan, Cabrera deployed the two brothers, Sad Uddin and Taj Uddin, on either flank of the backline. For today’s match, he might start with Sad Uddin and Mohammedan Sporting Club’s Shakil Ahad Topu. Cabrera also started with Topu as right-back against India.

However, the coach had not yet announced the final 23-man squad for the Singapore match at the time of writing this report. Earlier, on 28 May, Cabrera named a preliminary squad of 26 players for both the Bhutan friendly and the Singapore match. According to regulations, the coach must reduce the squad from 26 to 23 players before kick-off today.

Bangladesh drew with India in their first match of the third round of AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Jamal Bhuiyan and his teammates will face Singapore in their second match today at 7:00 pm at the National Stadium in Dhaka. A win could increase Bangladesh’s chances of topping the group.

In Group C of the qualifiers, all four teams—Bangladesh, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong—currently have one point each. On the same day, India will play away in Hong Kong. All four teams still have the opportunity to reach the top of the group.

Bangladesh has not played many matches against Singapore. So far, in two recognised matches, the red-and-greens have drawn one and lost the other. The last meeting was on 30 May 2015, at the National Stadium, where Bangladesh lost 2–1 to Singapore.

Mitul Marma (goalkeeper), Topu Barman, Tariq Kazi, Saad Uddin, Shakil Ahad, Hamza Chowdhury, Shammit Som, Jamal Bhuiyan/Sohel Rana, Fahmidul Islam, Shah Kazem/Faisal Ahmed, Rakib Hossain.