Bangladeshi football coach upbeat about Vietnam tour

Bangladesh under-17 football coach Mahbub Hossain Roxy was happy that his boys would be able to play a warm-up tournament abroad as part of their preparation for September's Asian Youth (U17) Championship finals, The Daily Star reported Thursday.

The 25-member Bangladesh U17 team, including five officials, were due to leave Dhaka after midnight Wednesday to play a four-nation invitational tournament in Vietnam.

Apart from hosts Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos are also playing in the competition as part of their preparation for the event in Singapore.

"It is a great opportunity for us that we can play a warm-up tournament ahead of the final round," said Roxy Wednesday at a press conference.

"There is not other team at under-17 level in the country and we cannot really measure our real standard while playing against senior teams.

"In this tournament, we would be able to pick up our lacks and correct the mistakes.

"I am satisfied with preparation so far and look forward to this tournament. Another advantage would be playing Vietnam, who will be in our group in the finals," he said.

Bangladesh, who play Vietnam in the opening match of Group D in the Asian Championship on Sept. 4, are also pitted against Syria and China on Sept. 6 and 8 respectively.

Source: Xinhua