Expat Talent and Senior Core Fuel Bangladesh U-23’s Asian Cup Ambition

Bangladesh is eyeing its first-ever qualification for the AFC Men’s Under-23 Asian Cup, fielding a squad that includes 13 senior national team players and four expatriates: Cuba Mitchell and Tanil Salik (both UK-based), Fahamedul Islam (Italy), and Zayaan Ahmed (US).

“Having 12 to 13 senior players is a big boost… The new players like Cuba, Zayaan and Salik have added quality, and we feel mentally prepared for the challenge,”
— said Morsalin, the team’s star forward and expected captain.

The squad is set to depart for Vietnam in the early hours of Saturday, ahead of their opening Group C fixture against the host nation on September 3, followed by matches against Yemen and Singapore on September 6.

Fahamedul will join the team in Vietnam on September 1, though he is unlikely to feature in the first game.

From this qualification round, 11 group winners and the 4 best runners-up will move on to the 16-team finals scheduled for 2026 in Saudi Arabia.

In preparation, the squad trained in Bahrain for over three weeks and played two friendlies against Bahrain U-23, losing 1–0 and 4–2.

“The chemistry we built in Bahrain has lifted confidence,”
— said AKM Saiful Bari Titu, the head coach and also BFF technical director. He added that the team is adapting to the playing style that national coach Javier Cabrera plans to implement for October’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in Hong Kong.