Bhutan’s Under-23 National Football Team left for Jordan today to take part in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers, marking their debut in the tournament. Placed in Group A, Bhutan will face Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, and host nation Jordan. The 11 group winners, along with the four best runners-up, will qualify for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Finals and join Saudi Arabia next year.
The National Football team played a friendly match against RTC FC yesterday as part of the preparation for the tournament.
Despite limited preparation time, the Bhutanese squad expressed their readiness and optimism to secure a positive result in their campaign.
“Though the players come from many different clubs, we have been together at the academy and have known each other since childhood. So, we understand how we play and how our team works. We have been preparing really well, and the boys are highly motivated,” said Pema Zangpo, Midfielder, Bhutan U-23 National Team.
“Personally, my hopes are high because we have a very good squad right now. Even though we are currently playing for different clubs, we still have strong chemistry since we have played together in previous youth setups. We aim to qualify and deliver good results for the people back in Bhutan,” said Jignam S. Dorji, Defender, Bhutan U-23 National Team.
This time, the preparation time is very short. Anyway, I hope the players have a strong mentality because the opponent in the first game, Jordan, is very strong. In the next game, too, we are facing very strong opponents. So, when we have a match with a team like that, first of all, we should have a strong mentality. It’s very important,” said Atsushi Nakamura, Coach, Bhutan U-23 National Team.
Bhutan will begin their campaign against Jordan on Wednesday, who finished third in the 2013 edition. Their second match will be against Turkmenistan on Saturday, who is making their sixth Qualifiers appearance.
The team will conclude their group stage campaign against Chinese Taipei next Tuesday, who are making their seventh appearance.
A total of 44 teams, divided into 11 groups, are competing in the Qualifiers. The matches are played in a single round-robin format at centralised venues.
Namgay Wangdi
Edited by Sonam Pem
