Bangladesh national football team will leave Dhaka for Qatar on Friday morning to play in the next month’s Group E joint qualification of FIFA World Cup' 2022 and AFC Asian Cup' 2023.
Bangladesh team comprises 25 players and 10 officials. They will was set to fly for Doha on a Qatar Airlines flight at 11:00 am, reports UNB.
Bangladesh will play Afghanistan, India and Oman in their remaining three Group E qualification matches on 3, 7 and 15 June. All of the matches will be held at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
Bangladesh national team, earlier scheduled to leave for Qatar on 30 May, are now going to Doha two days ahead of the previous programme.
Captain Jamal Bhuiyan and head coach Jamie Day were found upset for the failure of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to arrange practice matches in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier, Bangladesh football team were supposed leave for Saudi Arabia last Monday on a five-day visit for training and play a couple of warm-up matches as part of the preparation for their 2022 World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers Group E matches in June in Qatar.
But, the tour was aborted just hours before the team’s departure as BFF was yet to receive quarantine exemption letter from Saudi Arabia.
Afghanistan and India have already started their preparations in Qatar but Bangladesh national team had to take preparations playing against a local club at home.
Just day before the departure, Bangladesh national team played a preparatory match with former league champions Sheikh Jamal DC and settled for 2-2 draw at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Yeasin and Mededi Hasan scored for the national team. Solaiman Sillah netted one for Sheikh Jamal DC while the other goal was a suicidal one.
Bangladesh squad
Goal Keeper - Md Shahidul Alam, Rasel Mahmud, Anisur Rahman Zico
Defender - Md Rahmat Miya, Topu Barman, Riyadul Hasan, Yeasin Arafat, Rimon Hossain, Mehadi Hasan, Habibur Rahman Shohag, Tariq Raihan Kazi and Mohammad Emon
Midfielder - Jamal Bhuyan, Mohammad Abdullah, Masuk Miya Zoni, Sohel Rana, Biplu Ahmed, Md Matin Miah, Rakib Hossain, Manik Hossain Mollah and Md Mehadi Hasan
Forward- Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, Md Sumon Reza, Mohammad Jewel and Mohammad Ibrahim
(Mohammad Ibrahim will accompany the team if found negative)
Officials: Team manager - Iqbal Hossain, observer - Mohammed Manjur Alam, head coach - Jamie Day, assistant coach - Stuart Paul Witkiss, goal keeping coach - Leslie Cleevely, fitness coach - Evan Razlog, media officer/administrator -Mohamnad Hasan Mahmud, team director - Nafiuzzaman, physio - Fuad Hasan Hawlader and attendant - Mohammad Mohsin.