Bashundhara Kings footballers have officially joined the Bangladesh national football team camp ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. A total of ten Kings players reported to team manager Amer Khan at the national team hotel in Dhaka on Friday night. Their arrival has increased the squad strength to 25 footballers.
Two foreign-based players — Hamza Chowdhury from England and Samit Som from Canada — are expected to join the camp on November 10 and 11, respectively. The national side is preparing for crucial fixtures against India and Nepal.
Bangladesh Lose Warm-Up Match Ahead of Nepal Game
Before facing Nepal, Bangladesh played a warm-up match against Forties FC at the Kings Arena, where they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat in a 35-minute-per-half contest. Interestingly, Nepalese defender Ananta Tamang, who will represent Nepal in the upcoming fixture, played for Forties in this match.
Bangladesh will meet Nepal at the National Stadium in Dhaka on November 13, and having already faced a few familiar faces in the warm-up game could prove useful.
Coach Javier Cabrera has been overseeing the training sessions since November 4. On the first day, he interacted with the media but has since opted to conduct closed training sessions for three consecutive days.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔,” 𝑪𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔.
Despite keeping the media at bay, Cabrera organized practice games against local sides, including Forties, to assess team chemistry and tactical execution.
Understanding Cabrera’s Game Plan
The Bangladesh side is still trying to find its rhythm and structure under Cabrera’s guidance. Although the squad remains incomplete without all the Bashundhara Kings footballers, their arrival has brought new energy to the camp.
However, Nepal’s seasoned footballer Ananta Tamang may already have insight into Bangladesh’s tactics after facing them in the warm-up match.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍,” 𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
Having trained extensively at the National Stadium, the team shifted to the Kings Arena for the recent practice game, a move seen as part of Cabrera’s strategic approach. Still, the coach’s complex planning continues to puzzle many observers.
Bangladesh’s preparation continues, with hopes high that Cabrera’s system will begin to click when they face Nepal next week.
Also Read: World Cup-Winning Captain Set to Visit Dhaka for Two Days
