Bangladesh 'B' 1-2 Zimbabwe

The second-string Bangladesh football team completed their Merdeka Cup campaign with a 2-1 defeat against Zimbabwe at the Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Bangladesh will return home today with empty-handed as they lost their two previous group matches against Indonesia 1-0 and against Singapore 2-1.

Zimbabwe, who brought their select team, took a 1-0 lead in the first half with a 36th minute strike and then doubled the margin in the 57th minute following a Bangladeshi defense lapse, according to a message received here from the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).

Bangladesh pulled back a goal with three minutes to go before the final whistle when striker Saifur Rahman Moni headed home a Sharif ball.

Meanwhile, the senior side returned home yesterday after a disappointing performance in the Nehru Cup in India where they suffered a 0-2 defeat to top-ranked Syria, 0-1 defeat to hosts India and 0-3 defeat to Kyrgyztan and managed only a 1-1 draw with Cambodia.

Bangladesh 'B' Play Last Match Against Zimbabwe

After their senior colleagues bowed out of the Nehru Cup without making any impact, Bangladesh's second-string footballers play their last match in the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia today.

Bangladesh's last group match against Zimbabwe will begin at 4.30 pm (Bangladesh time) at the Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

The game, however, will not be treated as a full international as Zimbabwe brought their Select team with coach Sunday Chidzambwa choosing a squad of some veterans, who have always been on the fringe of breaking into the national team, and some up-and-coming players eager to make an impression.

Bangladesh have lost both their games, 1-0 to Indonesia and 2-1 to Singapore but the Zimbabwe Select bounced back after a 4-2 loss to Singapore when the Africans downed Indonesia 2-1 on Thursday.

Singapore, who meet Indonesia in the today's other match, have already confirmed a place in the semifinals after first-half goals by Ridhuan Muhammad and Fazrul Nawaz had sealed a win over Bangladesh, who were the more aggressive side on Thursday.

Singapore U-23 2-1 Bangladesh 'B'

Bangladesh's second-string national football team went down to Singapore U-23s 2-1 in the Merdeka Cup.

Singapore, who led the first half 2-0 with goals in the 41 and 44 minutes at the Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, all but confirmed a semifinal berth with their second successive win following a 4-2 victory against Zimbabwe Select.

Bangladesh defended well before captain Hassan Al Mamun limped off the ground just before conceding the first goal and his replacement Arup Baidya set a consolation goal for substitute Jumratul Islam Mithu, who struck his first international goal in the 85th minute.

Bangladesh meet Zimbabwe Select in their last group match.

Indonesia U-23 1-0 Bangladesh 'B'

Bangladesh's second-string national football team lost 1-0 to Indonesia U-23s, in their opening match of the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Indonesia settled the score of the Group B match from a 25th minute freekick, according to e message received in Dhaka.

Bangladesh striker Saifur Rahman Moni wasted two good chances as Bangladesh built pressure in the second half but failed to beat the defensive shell of the Southeast Asian nation.

Bangladesh will take on Singapore tomorrow.

On the opening day, holders Myanmar edged Lesotho 1-0 and hosts Malaysia blanked Laos 2-0 on Monday.

Bangladesh Play Indonesia Today

Bangladesh begin their Merdeka Cup campaign today when they meet Indonesia in Group B in Kuala Lumpur.

The match will kick off at 7 pm Bangladesh time at the Shah Alam Stadium in the Malaysian capital.

With the mainstream footballers touring India for the Nehru Cup, it would be a challenge for the second-string national team led by Hassan Al Mamun in a group also featuring Singapore and Zimbabwe.

Although the team have mostly newcomers, the tournament will give veteran and out-of-favour footballers like Hassan Al Mamun, Matiur Munna, Parvez Babu and Saifur Rahman Moni a golden opportunity to impress and return to the senior team before the SAFF Championship.

It is the fourth time Bangladesh are taking part in the prestigious tournament, where they had won only match in previous 19 attempts, a 1-0 victory against Nepal in 1983.

In 1973, Bangladesh drew with Thailand and Singapore while two years later when they played eight matches to suffer huge 7-1 and 9-1 defeats to Burma and Hong Kong respectively, Bangladesh faced Thailand twice with both games ending 1-1.

The only time Bangladesh played Indonesia in this tournament was in 1975, crashing 4-0. Bangladesh went down twice to the Southeast Asians before the losing streak ended with a memorable 2-1 victory in Dhaka when Bangladesh won the home leg of the World Cup qualifier in 1985.

The last time the two teams met, the result was 1-1 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Pakistan also in 1985.

Bangladesh got the chance to train at the match venue yesterday under coach Hasanuzzaman Babloo, who has playing experience in the tournament. It was learned that the coach also visited Indonesia's practice session.

On the opening day of the tournament yesterday, Myanmar faced Lesotho while hosts Malaysia were pitted against Laos.

Bangladesh will take on Singapore and Zimbabwe on August 23 and 25 respectively.

Babloo's Boys Leave For Kuala Lumpur

With the senior team playing in the Nehru Cup, the second-string Bangladesh national team, under coach Hasanuzzaman Babloo, will leave Dhaka today for Kuala Lumpur to participate in the Merdeka Cup.

The team will fly to Bangkok by a GMG flight en route to the Malaysian capital.

Returning to the prestigious tournament after 24 years, Bangladesh will face Indonesia, Singapore and Zimbabwe in the group stage.

Nayeemuddin Needs More Time

Syed Nayeemuddin will take another day to settle his mind before naming two different national teams for this month's Merdeka Cup and Nehru Cup international tournaments.

Bangladesh will send teams of equal strength to the tournaments in Malaysia and India and Nayeemuddin, the former Indian international and coach, who officially took charge as national coach this month, will announce the squads tomorrow instead of today.

"The weather really hampered our training. The ground was waterlogged yesterday so we could not train properly," told Nayeem from the residential camp at BKSP over phone.

"It is also risky. So I want to see them one more day in the field," said Nayeem. Two players including senior centre-back Nazrul Islam picked minor injury and the Indian coach wanted to avoid such risks.

The camp is being run with 47 players and mostly, they did power and physical training in the initial period before going to game practice just a couple of days earlier.

"The footballers have been very sincere in training and I feel they have the urge to do something good. I am satisfied with the fitness," added Nayeem, who has yet to decide which side he will accompany.

"Both the tournaments are tough. So the decision will be taken after discussion with the federation officials."

Acting general secretary of Bangladesh Football Federation and chairman of National Team Management Committee Manzoor Hossain Malu, who spent the entire day at BKSP yesterday, said Nayemuddin should stay with the team that will be the base of the SAFF Football Championship.

"Our main target is SAFF Championship. The stronger teams are coming to the Nehru Cup and I feel it would be more helpful for us if we send the team with Nayeemuddin to India," opined Malu.

Hosts India, Cambodia, Syria, Kyrgyzstan and another team will play in the Nehru Cup (August 18-29) along with Bangladesh.

The organisers, meanwhile, rescheduled the Merdeka Cup (August 18-29) grouping and Bangladesh will be pitted against Indonesia, Singapore and Zimbabwe on August 21, 23 and 25 respectively in Group B.

Myanmar, Lesotho, Laos and hosts Malaysia will play in Group A.

Teams for Nehru and Merdeka Tourneys Announced

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) yesterday confirmed Bangladesh's opponents in the two international football tournaments to be played next moth in Malaysia and India.

The BFF has decided to send the senior national team and a second string side to the two tournaments, but they are yet to announce which team will go where.

Apart from hosts Malaysia, the other teams to play in the Merdeka Cup (August 19-29) are Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar and Maldives.

In Delhi, where the ONGC Nehru Cup will be held from August 16-28, Bangladesh will be playing alongside hosts India, Cambodia, Syria, Kyrgyzstan and another team yet to be confirmed.

The groupings will be done later.

Merdeka Cup Squad Chosen

If the first list of the national squad named by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) for the Nehru Cup in India had raised just a few eyebrows, the second set of players chosen for the Merdeka Cup would certainly hurt many.

The BFF yesterday named 20 players for the prestigious Malaysian tournament which will be held from August 19-29.

The latest squad included striker Alfaz, who had announced his retirement from international football in November 2006 after Bangladesh's last match in the Asian Cup qualifiers.

BFF deputy general secretary Manzoor Hossain Malu told yesterday that the federation has yet to receive anything from Alfaz in written about his retirement.

"It's not official. So we called him. The coach has also talked with him," he informed.

Also surprising was the omission of fullback Ibnul Siraji, a regular face in the national side after Hassan Al Mamun was ruled out for long injury. Despite playing all the matches for ongoing B. League leaders Abahani, the rightback was ignored for his short stature.

It was learned that new coach Syed Nayeemuddin prefers taller players, especially in the backline.

The new list included veterans like Hassan Al Mamun, Hassan, Munna, Parvez Babu and Moni.

Matured players like Shuvra, Juku, Mithu and Kamal - seemingly past their best - also got their first national calls although Abahani's midfield duo Zahed Parvez and inform Abdullah Parvez have been mistreated.

The most surprising inclusion was Arambagh striker Ridon, who has been used only a few times as late substitute by his club and has not scored a single goal in the ongoing professional league.

Abahani's second choice goalkeeper Tarek, billed as the successor to long-serving Aminul and Biplab, however, seemed to be lucky to be named after playing just a few minutes in one game. Tarek was in the national squad for the 10th SA Games last year and the Olympic qualifiers earlier this year.

There was still doubt whether most of the senior players, as they had earlier expressed their reluctances to wear the national colours any more, would join the camp or not.

On Wednesday before attending former India international Nayeemuddin's opening briefing, senior footballers Rajani Kanta Barman, Nazrul Islam and Feroz Mahmud Titu informed the BFF secretary that they were not interested to play for the national team.

Manzoor Hossain Malu, who is also the head of the National Team Management Committee (NTMC), said that he has talked with three players about this.

"They haven't given anything in written although they told us about their wishes.

"I have asked them to reconsider their decision for the sake of the nation. As they attended the coach's briefing, we take it that they will join the camp. Unless they make it on paper, we will think that they would be available," Malu added.

Squad

Goalkeepers: MN Shakil, Atiqul Islam Tarek, Mazharul Islam Himel

Defenders: Hassan Al Mamun, Amit Khan Shuvra, Mahmudul Hassan, Arafat Rony, Akram Hossain, Parvez Babu, Kamal Hossain

Midfielders: Matiur Munna, Kallol Kumar Zuku, Khokon Das, Arup Baidya, Jumratul Islam Mithu, Rony Islam, Monir Hossain

Forwards: Alfaz Ahmed, Saifur Rahman Moni and Akbar Hossain Ridon.