As Bangladesh prepare to resume their World Cup/Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign in Qatar still with a realistic chance of making it to the Asian Cup, the age-old issue of lack of goals and goalscorers have compounded due to injuries and sickness.
Bangladesh, who are currently at the bottom of Group E with a single point, can make it to the third position to qualify directly for the Asian Cup with six points from their three remaining games against Afghanistan (June 3), India (June 7) and Oman (June 15). Even four points from those three matches might be enough if some other results go in their favour.
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However, in present circumstances of Bangladesh playing all the three ‘home’ matches in Qatar and with a depleted side, earning even a point from these games might be a tall ask. While there is some stability in midfield and under the sticks, the recent injuries and Covid infections have undermined goalscoring and attacking options of the team a great deal.
A statistic would make it easier to understand how light the attacking options for Jamie Day are. Among the players in the current, only three – Biplu Ahmed (3), Motin Mia (2) and Topu Barman (2) — have goals in international matches.
Among those three, Topu is a centre-back while the other two usually play on the wings or in attacking midfield positions for their respective clubs.
The more conventional forwards that Day has at his disposal – Mehedi Hasan Royal, Sumon Reza and Mohammad Jewel – have altogether seven appearances for the national team without a goal.
Now let us look at what Day is missing in his squad. In the three years since the Englishman took over, Bangladesh senior team played 25 matches, where they scored 21 goals 20 of which came from nine different players while the other one was an own goal.
Unfortunately six out of those nine scorers are currently out of the squad due to various reasons.
Nabib Newaz Jibon, the most experienced striker of the country and the preferred No. 9 who scored three of those 12 goals, is recovering from a lengthy layoff due to injury.
Rabiul Islam, who scored three goals and was one thought to mitigate Bangladesh’s long-standing scoring misery is hopelessly out of form and is considered not a regular in his new club Mohammedan after being dispatched by Bashundhara Kings due to disciplinary issues.
Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, another striker with a lot of potential, was a late exclusion from the camp due to Covid-19. He had scored three goals for the senior side including two in the last three matches.
Saad Uddin, a very important member of the side and scorer of that memorable goal against India in Kolkata in November, 2019, got out of the squad due to a late injury.
Yeasin Khan, one of two centre-backs in this list with two goals, was not considered in the squad due to poor form.
Mohammad Ibrahim, another promising player with one goal to his name, missed out on the flight to Qatar. He can still make the squad if he recovers within a day or two.
So it is difficult to see where the goals are going to come from, goals that Bangladesh desperately need to get points.
Sheikh Russel KC coach Saiful Bari Titu, who previously coached the national team on occasions, stressed on the need for adaptations.
“The task is indeed very challenging. We never had many proven goalscorers and now due to the injuries and other issues, those options have become very limited,” Titu said while talking to The Daily Star.
“However the coach knows best his options and resources available. He will have to use the players keeping in mind the strengths of those players in particular positions,” the coach added.
Ruing the fact that Ibrahim, Saad and Sufil are missing from the squad, Titu said, “Bangladesh usually exploit wingplay, which is a common source of goals. But in absence of these players, the wings will be under pressure. But there are options, less experienced ones, at hand that might be used.”
In the only practice match (closed-door) in the build-up to the qualifiying matches, the national team played out a 2-2 draw against Sheikh Jamal DC, where Day made a string of substitutions after the first half to test all the players in the squad.
Speaking of his experience from that match and taking into considerations the strength of the opponents, Sheikh Jamal coach Shafiqul Islam Manik said he would not be surprised if Bangladesh started with a 5-4-1 formation in the upcoming matches. The veteran coach also said that he felt there was lack of confidence in the players and that the team might have been better off, since it was the only practice match, had the best eleven played for most part of the match.
Titu, meanwhile, believes that despite the obvious need for goals, Bangladesh might adopt a defensive approach and try to catch the opposition on the break with quick interchange of passes from the midfield to the final third.
He believes that with the constraints faced by the side, use of set-pieces — something Bangladesh have not been very good at — could be the way out for them if executed properly.
Both coaches, however, feel that if Bangladesh go with a counter-attacking approach with one striker playing up-front, Sumon Reza should be the obvious choice given the fact that he has played regularly for his club and got goals too.
