Head coach Tom Saintfiet has officially announced a 28-man preliminary squad for the Bangladesh national football team ahead of the upcoming FIFA ASEAN Cup. The tournament is scheduled to commence on September 24 in Indonesia. Notably, several high-profile expatriate players, including Hamza Dewan Chowdhury, Samit Som, Fahmidul Islam, and Tariq Kazi, have been omitted from this initial roster.
Despite their absence from the preliminary list, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has confirmed that these overseas-based players are expected to join the main squad at a later stage. The current selection features the inclusion of Sourav Dewan, who earned his spot following an impressive performance for Mohammedan Sporting Club last season. Conversely, Mirajul and Al Amin were excluded from the selection due to FIFA-imposed match suspensions and disciplinary sanctions.
The national team’s residential training camp, overseen by head coach Tom Saintfiet, is set to begin the day after tomorrow. Due to accommodation constraints at BKSP, the federation has abandoned its original plan to host the camp there. Instead, the players will be stationed at a premium hotel in Dhaka, where all training sessions and residential activities will be conducted.
The preliminary squad includes: Mitul Marma, Sujan Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Srabon, Anisur Rahman Zico, Topu Barman, Shakil Ahad Topu, Bishwanath Ghosh, Saad Uddin, Taj Uddin, Rahmat Mia, Abdullah Omar, Shakil Hossain, Isa Faysal, Jamal Bhuyan, Sohel Rana, Md. Sohel Rana, Hridoy, Sheikh Morsalin, Syed Kazem Shah, Rakib Hossain, Shahriar Emon, Faysal Ahmed Fahim, Manjurur Rahman, Minhajul Karim Swadhin, Md. Ibrahim, Sourav Dewan, and Rabbi Hossain Rahul.
