Bangladesh skipper Mamunul Islam Mamun said they are hoping to display their best match tomorrow against Thailand in the second semifinal of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup Football to be held on Friday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium at 5pm. “As we are home team, so our target is now to play in the final, each member of the team is fit and committed ……… we want to play our best game and boys want to win the match to find our place in the final,” said the Bangladesh skipper at a pre match press conference held on Thursday at the city’s hotel. He said his team’s performance is gradually improving in the tournament match by match compared to the first match against Malaysia. Now they would use this good experience of the previous two matches to grab any opportunity tomorrow to book their place for the final. “The boys are absolutely free of mental pressure as we have fulfilled our initial target by reaching the semifinal. Now we have to go out and give hundred percent to win the match as we are really taking the match very seriously,” said the midfielder. The Bangladesh skipper said the players are happy and enjoying the training session and looking forward to play positive football tomorrow (Friday).Bangladesh team head coach Lodewijk de Kruif said that ” tomorrow’s (Friday) semifinal is very important game for Bangladesh … Thailand we saw in the tournament is a good team from the beginning… .. they (Thailand) looked very organized from every angle. The Dutch coach said their target in the beginning was to qualify in the semifinal and now the only target remain is to play good brand of soccer and play in the final. “I think the game is important for all Bangladeshi people …… Yes we will definitely fight and give our best in order to qualify for the final as you all know that our team is now in good shape after a convincing win over Sri Lanka,” said the head coach.Asked about his message to the boys prior the match, Kruif said as Thailand is a strong side at the moment to remain calm and play positive football with mind set to bag the place for the coveted final.
