Two expatriate footballers excited with national team call-up
Rahbar Khan was a familiar name in Dhaka’s underground football back in the late 2000s.
In the next month, the Bangladesh football team will be heading to Kyrgyzstan to play in the Tri-nation Cup. Interestingly, Rahbar Wahed Khan and Tahmid Islam, two expatriate footballers made it to the 23-member squad.
25-year-old Khan plays in Canada for a semi-professional club named, North Toronto Nitros as a forward. And the 18-year-old youngster Islam plays for USAA Vertou, a French fifth division club.
Bangladesh Football Federation posted a video message where Khan said he was excited to join the camp with others. He said, "I'm very humbled and excited to join the national team in the Tri-nations Cup. My focus is on getting into the starting eleven and helping the team; help whichever way to get more goals and win more games."
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Rahbar Khan was a familiar name in Dhaka's underground football back in the late 2000s. He also goes by the name Sharan and used to be a prominent and one of the most promising players coming out of the underground ranks having played for top teams back then like DOHS United, Seven Nations Army, and so on.
In another video message, Islam said, "I'm feeling really good to be called up. I ask everyone to pray so that I can brighten the image of the nation and take Bangladesh football to a new level."
Coach Jamie Day is targeting the SAFF Championship. He thinks the Tri-nation Cup is the best chance to test some new players like Rahbar and Tahmid.
He said, "I've seen them (Rahbar and Tahmid) play. I think it's worth having a look at them at the international level to see if they're good enough. It gives me a good opportunity to see if they're good enough to go to the SAFF Championship"
"Both are technically good players. I'm hoping that they will add some quality to the squad," he added.
"They will play at least one of the three matches (in Kyrgyzstan), so they'll get a chance to show us what they are capable of doing. I've seen five or six matches (video footage) of each player. I want to have the strongest squad possible to take to the SAFF Championship," Day further added.
Captain Jamal Bhuiyan was the first expatriate who flew from Denmark to join the Bangladesh football team. Later on, defender Tariq Kazi came from Finland and now he is a valuable component for both the national side and club (Bashundhara Kings).
Team Bangladesh will play against Palestine and Kyrgyzstan respectively on September 5 and 7. After a two-day break on September 9, Bangladesh will play their last match against the host nation. Team Bangladesh will fly for Bishkek on August 28.
