Bangladesh to apply new tactics against Palestine

The SAFF Championship will be held in the Maldives in October. Now Bangladesh are in Kyrgyzstan to play in the Three Nations Cup as preparation for that. 

Though three nations are mentioned, four teams will take part in the tournament. Bangladesh, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan and Kyrgyzstan U-23 teams are taking part in it.

Bangladesh will play their first match against Palestine on Sunday. The match will start at 8:30 pm Bangladesh time at the Spartak Stadium in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Palestine beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in their first match.

Bangladesh didn't have the longest of preparation but the team is satisfied with what they have done in the last five days of practice before facing Palestine on Sunday. It's not going to be an easy match for Bangladesh but skipper Jamal Bhuiyan is confident ahead of the game.

He said his team is ready to fight against the Palestinians. He also mentioned that Bangladesh will apply a new strategy in this match.

In a video message sent by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), the Bangladesh captain said, "The matches in this tournament will be played to prepare ourselves for the upcoming SAFF campaign. We have less than a month in our hands, so this time is very valuable."

"We have to work with our strategy. We have to see where we need to improve. Everyone is fit and ready. The preparation for the last few days was really good. We are ready to fight against Palestine," he added.

After watching the match between Kyrgyzstan and Palestine, Bangladesh have decided to play with a new strategy. 

"Tomorrow is our first match against Palestine. In the meantime, we have seen their match against Kyrgyzstan. We have found out their strengths and weaknesses. We have talked to the coach about all this. We have decided how to play. We will try to play with new tactics. If it is good, we will continue."

Like the captain, the English coach Jamie Day said, "The match will be challenging." 

"The players have been training for three or four days for tomorrow's match. We know that Palestine is stronger than us. It will definitely be a challenging match. All players are fit. They have to prove their best in the match," Day added.

Bangladesh's record against Palestine is not good. Bangladesh played two matches against the team in Bangabandhu Gold Cup. In 2016, Bangladesh lost 2-0 in the semi-final. Two years later, in the group stage match, Bangladesh lost again.