Syria Bring Young Squad

Bangladesh take on Syria in their lung-opener on the second day of the ONGC Nehru Cup international football tournament beginning at the Ambedkar Stadium here on Friday.

The 27-member Syrian team led by Tajeddin Fares, vice president of the country's soccer federation, arrived here yesterday to become the first foreign team to reach the Indian capital for the five-nation competition.

The Syrians, who had a two hour workout here soon after arrival, are without six key players, four of whom are preparing back home for this month's Beijing Olympics qualifier against Bahrain on August 22.

Fares informed that two other Syrian players have not been released by their clubs in Kuwait and Jordan.

However, he was confident about his team's prospects in the tournament.

Syrian coach Fajer Ibrahim, who has been in charge for the last two years, said Syria had beaten Kyrgyzstan in the last World Cup qualifier and have a very good record against Bangladesh.

They also beat Jordan and Lebanon before losing to Iraq in the semifinal in the West Asia Cup tournament.

"We have a good team but we don't take other teams lightly. We have some talented youngsters who can deliver the goods in the absence of some key players," said former international Ibrahim, who played for the national team for five years.

Syria, placed 113 in FIFA rankings, are the highest top-ranked team in the tournament.

The Syrian team consist of several under-23 players who had represented their country at the Doha Asian Games last year.

A big challenge for the Syrian team is getting accustomed to the hot and humid conditions in Delhi.