Bangladesh prepared to face Kuwait in semifinal today

Motivated Bangladesh are prepared to face superior Kuwait in the first semifinal match of the Bangabandhu SAFF Championship scheduled to be held Saturday at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, India.

Private satellite channel T-sports will telecast the match live that kicks off at 4pm (BST).

Undoubtedly Kuwait is a strong team than Bangladesh, but Jamal Bhuyan and Co have the confidence of reaching the final of the championship following the results of group matches that boosted the confidence of booters before the crucial match.

Even though Kuwait is ahead in strength, in contrast, Bangladesh will fight till the last whistle with an eye on the final.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference held Friday, Bangladesh skipper Jamal Bhuyan said, "We know that this tournament and this semi-final is still in our own hands. People of Bangladesh who support football, expect to see the team in the final.

"InshaAllah if we can get a positive result, then football hype will increase. We know Bangladeshi people follow football and we have to keep an eye on that too."

Referring to Kuwait as a strong opponent, Jamal said, "We know that Kuwait is a very good and strong team. They are playing in the semi-finals as the best of the other group, but we have confidence as we have some players who know how to compete in the match and how to create pressure on the opponents.

"So, we are ready for this semifinal. We are physically a bit tired, but mentally we are 100 per cent prepared for the semifinal."

The Bangladesh captain also wants to focus more on himself in the semi-finals.

"We have to play our own game. We have to look after ourselves. How to score goals, how to attack and how to defend the opponent – we have to keep an eye on these. So, I would say we have to look at ourselves first, otherwise, the match may become difficult for us," he added.

The midfielder said in the team meeting that they would discuss this match and would definitely find a way to reach the finals because they are not only participating but also want to do something good in the championship. The people of the country would watch this match and the Bangladesh captain is well aware of his job and wants to do well and have confidence in doing well in this semifinal.

Javier Cabrera's men have the confidence to win the semi-final, but not too much. In this context, Jamal said although they have good confidence before the semi-finals, overconfidence is not always good.

The Bangladesh captain said they have to respect Kuwait because they saw how Kuwait put India under pressure in the group stage. In the last practice today, they must discuss among themselves how to deal with Kuwait.

Bangladesh, who won the championship in 2003, earlier lost their opening game in Group B against Lebanon 2-0 but staged a brilliant fight back with a 3-1 win over Maldives before sealing a second-spot finish in the group with a 3-1 win against Bhutan.

On the other hand, Kuwait, ranked 143 in the FIFA ranking, opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over Nepal, and crushed Pakistan 4-0 drubbing before drawing 1-1 with tournament favourites host India.

/KN/