Jamal determined to reach semis

Bangladesh football team captain Jamal Bhuiyan is determined to win against Sri Lanka and reach the semi-final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup.

Bangladesh face Sri Lanka at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka at 5pm Sunday. 

The game will be telecast live on BTV and RTV.

Bangladesh lost their first match against Palestine and must win Sunday to go through to the last four of the six-nation tournament.

Burundi became the second team, after Palestine, to qualify for the semi-finals of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup following their 3-1 win over Seychelles at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka Saturday.https://t.co/1ulJcMurtc#BFF #FOOTBALL #BANGLADESHFOOTBALL #BANGLADESH #BURUNDI

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) January 18, 2020

“Our target is to reach the semis. We could not win the first game despite playing well. We do not want to allow such a thing in this match. We want to attack the opponent while keeping our defense intact. Hopefully, we will get goals in the game,” Jamal said Saturday.

However, Sri Lanka will not be an easy nut to crack as they showed a resolute defensive performance against a strong Palestine side. 

The island nation lost the game 2-0 after two injury-time goals, and that brought them on par with the host Bangladesh as they lost by an identical margin to group champion Palestine. 

If the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka game ends in a stalemate after 90 minutes Sunday, the group runners-up and the semi-finalist will be decided through penalties.

Last-gasp #Palestine into #semis https://t.co/PXTztZxn8w

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) January 17, 2020

Jamal said he was aware of Sri Lanka’s defensive style.

“The Lankans play by keeping their defense tight. They deployed six persons in defense during their last match. Palestine had much better possession but had to wait till the end to get the goals, so our forwards have to be very alert,” said the skipper. 

Bangladesh are without main striker Nabib Newaj Jibon and the captain said the side, who have been struggling in the final third, may play with an extra striker in Saad Uddin.