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Form Guide
India: LWLDW
That win over Nepal was India’s first in an international friendly under Koevermans with three of the previous four ending in defeat. India also haven’t won back-to-back games since Nehru Cup 2012 and they haven’t recorded a victory in the first game of a calendar year since 2008.
Bangladesh: WWLDL
Bangladesh have never won away at India and their last victory against India at senior international level came in the 2003 SAFF Championship semi-final. Despite a highly encouraging 2013, the only FIFA member that they defeated last year was Nepal with the other win coming over Northern Mariana Islands.
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Team News
India
Koevermans has retained most of the squad that was selected for the twin international friendlies in November. But a couple of consistent performers in the I-League – Balwant Singh and Amrinder Singh – have been rewarded for their fine form while Subrata Pal has been recalled despite only featuring in one reserve league game for Denmark’s FC Vestsjaelland. Besides Pal, the only other IMG-Reliance contracted player in the squad is uncapped central defender Sandesh Jhingan.
There is plenty of experience and quality in midfield but once again international experience is lacking among defenders with five of them having a combined total of 11 senior caps. But perhaps a game against lower-ranked Bangladesh is an ideal opportunity to give international exposure to those youngsters.
Koevermans is likely to opt for two strikers and it would be interesting to see who gets the start alongside skipper Sunil. Robin Singh has impressed in national team colours despite not being a regular for his club Bengaluru while Balwant is one of the most in-form strikers in the I-League and thus is in contention for his full international debut.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar SC), Amrinder Singh (Pune FC), Subrata Pal (FC Vestsjaelland).
Defenders: Denzil Franco (Churchill Brothers), Arnab Mondal (East Bengal), Aibhorlang Khongjee (Mohun Bagan), Sandesh Jhingan (Mumbai FC), Gurjinder Kumar (Pune FC), Narayan Das (Dempo SC).
Midfielders: Mehtab Hossain, Lalrindika Ralte (both East Bengal), Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers), Rocus Lamare (Salgaocar), Alwyn George, Clifford Miranda (both Dempo), Francis Fernandes (Salgaocar), Victorino Fernandes (Sporting Clube de Goa).
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh (both Bengaluru FC), Balwant Singh (Churchill Brothers)
Bangladesh
There are ten Dhanmondi players in the 21-man squad
There are eight Under-20 players in Bangladesh’s 21-man travelling squad and six of them are uncapped. Since the national team hardly features at international level barring the few competitive matches, Kruif has made the most of this fixture by picking a young squad. Besides the domestic tournaments, the 43-year-old Dutchman has also taken the Under-19 Asian Cup qualifiers into account for his selection..
The majority of the squad though comes from the 2014 IFA Shield runners-up Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi side with as many as ten players. Those Dhanmondi players will be eager to impress again both to get a good result and perhaps even catch the attention of some I-League clubs. Denmark-based midfielder Jamal Bhuyan is the only foreign-based player in the squad.
Kruif will be missing the services of winger Zahid Hossain and midfielder Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan due to injury but he should still be able to select a strong midfield with skipper Mamunul Islam fully fit, which wasn’t the case at SAFF 2013. The defence also has a good mix of youth and experience but the forward department is highly dependent on the experienced Jahid Hasan Ameli as two – Aminur Rahman Sazib and Toklis Ahmed – of the other three are teenagers.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Biplob Bhattacharjee (Sheikh Russel KC), Shahidul Alam Sohel (Dhaka Abahani), Mohammed Mazharul Islam (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi)
Defenders: Ashraf Mohamed Linkon (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi), Rayhan Hasan (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi), Nasir Uddin Chowdhury (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi), Didarul Hoque (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi), Atiqur Rahman Meshu (Dhaka Abahani), Topu Borman (Mohammedan SC Dhaka), Yeasin Khan (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi), Yeamin Ahmed Munna (Mohammedan SC Dhaka)
Midfielders: Jamal Bhuyan (Hellerup IK), Sohel Rana (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi), Mohd Mamunul Islam (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi), Rubel Miya (Brothers Union), Hemanta Vincent Biswas (Mohammedan SC Dhaka), Towhidul Alam (Mohammedan Sporting Dhaka)
Forwards: Jahid Hasan Ameli (Mohammedan SC Dhaka), Toklis Ahmed (Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi), Mithun Chowdhury (Sheikh Russel KC), Aminur Rahman Sajib (Team BJMC)
Key Men
India – Sunil Chhetri
The India captain became the country’s highest scorer as per AIFF records last year and he would be determined to put an inspiring performance in the first game of 2014. His goal against Bangladesh at SAFF 2013 only earned a draw and this time he would be hoping to score in a winning cause.
Bangladesh – Mamunul Islam
Bangladesh captain Mamunul Islam (right) and coach Kruif
The Bangladesh skipper is the team’s midfield playmaker and was badly missed during the defeat to Nepal in the SAFF 2013 opener. Mamunul has a magical left foot and it was his delivery from a corner that led to Bangladesh’s goal against India in the SAFF 2013 encounter where he only featured as a late second half substitute.
