Beating Pakistan Will Make the Final Easier, Imrul Hasan Dreams of SAFF Title After 23 Years

Bangladesh have reached the SAFF Championship semi-final after beating Sri Lanka. Now Pakistan stand ahead. A win in Saturday's match will bring a ticket to the final, and with it the dream of winning the title after 23 years will come closer.

Although he considers Pakistan a tough opponent, football organiser and ABG Sports City director Imrul Hasan is hopeful about Bangladesh. He believes that if the semi-final hurdle can be crossed, winning the title in the final will not be difficult.

Imrul is satisfied with the recent performance of Bangladesh, who reached the last four as group champions. In particular, he sees the team's good play against Sri Lanka as a source of hope. However, he considers Pakistan a tougher opponent than Sri Lanka. The organiser also thinks the addition of several new players has increased that team's strength.

On this, Imrul said, 'Bangladesh have gone to the semi-final as group champions. Bangladesh played a good match after a long time against Sri Lanka, which has made us hopeful. Now the opponent in the semi-final is Pakistan. Probably five more new players have joined their team. With their addition, the Pakistan team has become stronger. Even so, I am hopeful. Although it will not be as easy as against Sri Lanka, our boys will play well against Pakistan and snatch victory.'

Imrul thinks that if Pakistan can be beaten, the path to winning the title will become much easier. He is also dreaming of ending the 23-year wait. He said, 'We are hopeful. Very hopeful. If we can cross tomorrow's hurdle, then I hope we will win the SAFF final very easily.'

Imrul has seen another positive aspect in Bangladesh's play against Sri Lanka. He is happy to see local players performing on a par with origin footballers.

He said, 'When you are in the company of a good player, you will try to give your best. The company of a good player will help you. I think that is what has happened. More origin footballers have now come to Bangladesh, and alongside them several of our local players are also playing. In representing Bangladesh, there is no local-origin distinction. A good combination has been created. I hope this continuity will be maintained in the coming matches too.'

However, Imrul does not want to judge the progress of Bangladesh football by one good match. In his view, only if the recent success can be sustained will it be understood how much the country's football has truly progressed.

On this he said, 'After a long time we have played a good match. Now we have to understand our reality. This success has to be sustained in the long term. Then we will understand that Bangladesh football has progressed. I do not want to judge right now by one match how much we have progressed. Time will tell how much we have progressed.'

Imrul also separately mentioned the role of Hamza Chowdhury as team captain. He said, 'When a player of Hamza's quality takes the captaincy of a team or a country, it will naturally provide extra inspiration among his teammates. That has happened in our case too. Under Hamza's captaincy, our players have been more inspired to play well.'