Bangladesh U-23 Football team will begin their campaign in the four-team Group E matches of the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers taking on stronger Jordan in Bethlehem, Palestine on Wednesday .
The match will kick off at 4:30 pm(local time) at Faisal Al-Hussein International stadium in Al Ram.
Putting in Group E of the AFC U-23 Tournament, Bangladesh will play Tajikistan on Friday (July 21) and hosts Palestine on Sunday (July 23) in the remaining encounters.
A total of 40 nations, split into 10 groups, will play in qualifying rounds. Ten group champions and five best runners-up teams will qualify for the 15-team final round of the meet scheduled for China in January next year.
On the way to Palestine, the Bangladesh team played two preparatory matches and lost both the matches. Bangladesh lost to Nepal 0-1 in the first match and conceded 0-3 goals defeat against Qatar in the other match.
On the eve of the opening match, Bangladesh Coach Andrew Ord said, “Bangladesh never won a game in this U-23 tournament, So, our goal is to create history bringing a victory” according to a message received from Bangladesh Football Federation.
Asked about the team strategy, Ord said, “We will adopt a counter attacking strategy with a compact midfield.”
Earlier on Monday, Bangladesh team reached Bethlehem, Palestinian safely from Qatar capital Doha to play the AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Ibrahim who left Dhaka on Sunday to replace injured Jewel Rana, joined the team in Amman, Jordan Monday.
An unfortunate groin injury forced Jewel return back home from Qata. Jewel suffered injury during the friendly match against Quarter on July 13.
The Bangladesh boys are mentally prepared for the challenge of AFC U23 Championship qualifiers tournament set to kick-off on July 19.