Durand Cup 2023: East Bengal take on Bangladesh Army

East Bengal have won the Durand Cup 16 times.

Double-headers continue in the 132nd IndianOil Durand Cup as the first Sunday of the tournament brings two matches which would seemingly be comfortable outings for the fancied teams involved. In the first game at Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Delhi FC, newly promoted to the second division I-League, make their IndianOil Durand Cup debut against 2021-22 Indian Super League (ISL) champions Hyderabad FC, while in the second local giants East Bengal take the field for the first time in the tournament, against the Bangladesh Army Football Team (BAFT) at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK).

The Group E game in Guwahati is scheduled for an afternoon 2.30pm kick-off while the Group A game in Kolkata kicks-off at 4.45pm Indian Standard Time (IST).

Bangladesh Army aim comeback against East Bengal

There is a lot of anticipation among fans locally around East Bengal’s first game in the 132nd IndianOil Durand Cup, against a Bangladesh Army Football Team (BAFT), who were simple overwhelmed by Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the tournament opener earlier on Thursday.

Team Manager Lt. Col. Jamshed accepted the same and said in response to a question on Sunday’s game, “Yes, after the first game we are trying to work on the drawbacks. We are working hard on those drawbacks and shortcomings of the team. We practiced hard on those in the last two days and we hope to play better and more positive football and will be able to stand stronger in the next game Inshallah.”

Emami East Bengal go into the IndianOil Durand Cup with a totally new getup as well when compared to the previous edition. They have experienced Spanish Head Coach Carles Cuadrat at the helm to begin with. They have also roped in the much more assured Prabhsukhan Gill in goal from the Kerala Blasters and their defense looks more settled with experience heads like Harmanjot Khabra, Nishu Kumar and Mandar Rao Dessai now in their ranks.

Up ahead they have the mercurial duo of Suhair and Naorem Mahesh Singh who can turn any game on its head and the experience of Brazilian Cleiton Silva to complete a much mor rounded side.

“We are ready to participate in the tournament and I really want to know about this tournament because it’s a historical tournament and I am really excited to be a part of it. We are trying to make a plan and win as much as possible to make it competitive,” said an excited Carles Cuadrat in a pre-match chat.

Nothing less than a good win will satisfy home fans ahead of the Kolkata derby on August 12 and for Bangladesh it will be a do or die game vis a vis the tournament. Goals and more than one of them can definitely be expected from the game.

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