The 132nd edition of Durand Cup is all set to start from Today i.e on 3rd August 2023. The tournament is going to be long and exciting with 24 teams participating. 2 foreign teams are also invited in this tournament. Out of them one is Bangladesh Army, placed in Group A along side Emami East Bengal FC and Punjab FC.
As Bastab Roy (Head Coach of Mohun Bagan's reserve team) said in one of his interviews that Mohun Bagan is placed in the "Group Of Deaths", here are some details regarding the Bangladeshi side football team Bangladesh Army.
Details regarding today's Match:
Date : 3rd August 2023
Time : 6 PM
Live on : Sony Ten 2 and Sony Liv
Stadium : YBK
Tickets : Free
What is Bangladesh Army FT all about?
The Bangladesh Army is an completely unknown entity in Indian Football and for the Indian Clubs. The 51-year old Bangladeshi side has successfully retained the National Football Championship 2021-22 defeating Chittagong District 4-2. It is believed in Bangladesh that this side is seen as a start of the new decade as the Army won the tittle for the first time in their history.
Out of few notable wins, the stunning 2-1 victory over Dhaka Mohammedan SC in 2021 Independence Cup is considered a mark in the club achievement glories.
Another one is on 8th April 2022 when the Army won thier 9th Bangabundhu Bangladesh Games against Sylhet District 2-0.
Although recent results of the team might not influence much on Mohun Bagan's Road to glory for Durand Cup, but the team cannot be underestimated.
Strengths of Bangladesh Army Ft :
As Discussed earlier, Bangladesh Army Football Team is completely an unknown entity for Indian football clubs and so as for Mohun Bagan. This might work in the favor of the Bangladeshi Side and can be the key for their success
The pitch and weather conditions of Bangladesh are quite similar to that of West Bengal and that might favor their players
The chants and buzz/noise for the Kolkata-Based clubs might be similar to that at home for the Bangladeshi Side, which might turn out helpful for them.
Squad Details of Bangladesh Army FT :
The Bangladesh Army Team is coached by Abdur Razzak, who accepted the importance of the game against Mohun Bagan which displayed confidence of a good show
The Army based club has a squad strenght of 42 and is captained by Nurul Haque Shuvo.
The team has recently loaned in 8 players from Dhaka Mohammedan SC which includes the likes of Mehedi Abedin Mithu, Kamrul Islam and Minhaj Abedin Ballu. These players are from the Federation Cup champion squad.
They have also added six players from other Bangladesh Premier League Clubs with the likes of Goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana and Rajib. Midfielders includes Minhaj and Strikers like Zafar Iqbal and Sajjad Hossain. In Addition to that Mehedi Abedin Mithu is a player to be looked after.
Weaknesses of Bangladesh Army :
Bangladesh Army is considered as the weakest link in the Group A of Durand Cup. With all due respect, the team might have brought some good foreign players but they are not at all in the level of Indian Foreign Talents. In simple words their foreign department is not upto Indian Football Level.
Although the team recently won the National Championship but the quality of Indian Tournaments is comparatively way too higher. Mohun Bagan on the other hand are the Hero ISL Champions and that shows their capability.
Mohun Bagan VS Bangladesh Army Predictions :
Mohun Bagan 3-0 Bangladesh Army FT
Mohun Bagan have one of the Strongest Squads in Indian Football. Players like Anwar Ali, Brendan Hamil and Hugo Boumous is way too much quality in compared to Bangladeshi Side.
Mehedi is the only player to look out in the game. Young talents like Suhail and Engson has high hopes and is expected to deliver in such matches.