Bangladesh can draw inspiration from 2011 triumph to down Lebanon: Emily

Whenever the Bangladesh national football team have faced the middle-east nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen and others, defeat has been inevitable until Bangladesh pulled out the biggest surprise-- a 2-0 win over Lebanon during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Pre-Qualifiers in 2011 in Dhaka. 

Lebanon are again up against Bangladesh in the SAFF Championship today in Bengaluru and former national forward Zahid Hasan Emily believes the men in red and green can produce a good result against the same opponents as recalled the build-up to that memorable victory in which he struck one of the two goals.

"We were committed to doing well because everything such as weather, food, and travel was against us during our away match in Beirut. We were not a team to concede four goals against Lebanon. We had really been tired before the match and we did not perform well," Emily told The Daily Star. "We beat Pakistan at home before playing out a goalless draw in the away match. We were a good team and played well at home then. Our team was really good but we suffered a 4-0 defeat to Lebanon in the away match, so we were committed to prove a point that we were not a team to concede four goals."

"After having analysed the away game, we found that we could win the match. All the players gave an all-out effort to win the match as the players were committed to doing better. When you have a commitment, you can do whatever you want to," said Emily.

The prolific striker also believes the current squad has the ability to pull off a positive result against Lebanon and has prescribed they take inspiration from the 2011 triumph to cause an upset.

"Learning from the past can show us the right path. The boys can take inspiration from that match and put up a good show against Lebanon. If the boys are motivated and committed enough to give their best on the ground, then it is possible to get a positive result," said Emily while adding that securing a point against Lebanon would be a great achievement to realise the target of playing in the semifinals.

"Bangladesh need a good start in the tournament. So, if you perform well against Lebanon but lose the match, the good performance will help the boys perform better in the next two matches against Maldives and Bhutan," said Emily. "I think the match will end in a draw because Lebanon looked tired after playing four matches in a short time in India, while Bangladesh have gotten enough time to adjust in India after playing two matches in Cambodia."

Emily, however, pointed out that Bangladesh would need to put out improved performances in comparison to how they played against Cambodia in the FIFA friendly.

"The boys have to give their best effort like what they are giving in club football. But, if they play how they performed against Cambodia, Bangladesh will be outplayed by Lebanon. However, I believe the boys have the ability to do better," he said.