Afghan players are physically strong, but we have speed: Jamal

Bangladesh Football team skipper Jamal Bhuiyan believed that his troops' speed could come in handy in beating a 'physically strong' Afghanistan in their Joint Qualifiers of World Cup and Asia Cup encounter in Doha tomorrow. 

"It is going to be a tough match. They [Afghanistan] are very strong physically. Their players are even taller than me. But we are technically strong and we have got some fast players. So, we will try to play our best game and give our 100 per cent for the nation," said an optimistic Jamal today. 

Bangladesh are at the bottom of Group E in the World Cup Qualification Asia table with just a single point from five games. The booters are scheduled to play their remaining World Cup qualifying games against Afghanistan tomorrow, India on June 7 and Oman on June 15 respectively.

And in order to qualify directly for the Asian Cup without waiting for other group E fixtures' results to go in their favour, the booters would need to ensure victories in all of their remaining matches. 

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. 

Bangladesh went to Qatar on the back of inadequate preparation and with a number of their regular starters missing due to injuries. But coach Jamie Day, like skipper Jamal, remained positive about securing their first points in the World Cup Qualification. 

"The boys have worked really hard last week to get the preparations right for the game. We know it's going to be an extremely tough game as Afghanistan are a very good side. They have a lot of players who play in Europe. They can be very good technically and we need to be at our very best to get a result.  

"One thing that I know is that the boys will work to the best of their abilities and give their 100 per cent and that's all we can ask for. We need to make sure that when we get our chances, we take them," Day added.