Veteran midfielder of Bangladesh National Football Team Mamunul Islam said that the team were improving and they believe that they would be able to perform well against Qatar.
“We have good preparation so far and improving in training sessions day by day. We have good facilities here, good accommodation, good gym and good environment. We are doing well in our training. The upcoming Qatar match will be very tough for us, but we want to perform well there. We are improving well, hopefully will be able to give a good performance against Qatar,” said Mamunul after a training session on Monday at Al Aziziyah Boutique in Qatar’s capital Doha.
The men in red and green resumed their training sessions after a day’s break. Booters held passing, dribbling, defending and a mini game during a 1.5 hr training session. They also held a gym session and recovery swimming session.
Bangladesh are set to play their one-off lone away match of joint qualifiers round two for FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 against Qatar at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on December 4 at 10 pm (BDT).
As a part of their preparation, the national side played two practice matches against two local amateur teams. They conceded 2-3 goals defeat against Qatar Military on Wednesday before conceding a 0-1 goal defeat against the second division club Lusail Sports Club.
Mamunul further added that the outcomes would have been different if their head coach Jamie Day was with them. The 41-year-old English coach Jamie couldn’t join the team as he tested positive for COVID-19.
“Jamie always gives us morally and it is really important for us. Our coach Stuart and other coaching members are good. But Jamie is an inspiration, a strength for us. The results would have been better if he was with us. We don't feel his absence. We think that he is with us here, we are regularly talking with him. He is monitoring us remotely,” the Bangladeshi midfielder added.
