B\\\'desh to face Thailand in second semi today

Hosts Bangladesh national team will face Thailand Under-23 team in the 2nd semifinal of the six-nation Bangabandhu Gold Cup International Football Tournament at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today (Friday) at 5:00 pm, reports UNB.
This will be the 15th encounter between the two teams since 1976. In the previous 14 meetings, Thailand enjoys upper hand with nine wins, three draw and two losses.
Thailand smartly reached the semifinal as Group B champions with all-win record after beating Singapore 3-2 and Bahrain 3-0 while Bangladesh booked a seat for the last four beating Sri Lanka 1-0 after losing to Malaysia 0-1.
At a pre-match press briefing at a local hotel Thursday, the Dutch head coach of Bangladesh national team, Lodewijk de Kruif, said: "We're fully aware of the situation.
It's a very important match for Bangladesh, as we have observed Thailand is a very good team."
"We thought Bahrain would be the best, but instead Thailand emerged as the top team. They (Thailand) are aggressive and technically and tactically good in every angle," he said.
"We're in good shape and the players know what they've to achieve. They were  little nervous against Malaysia, but now they're ready to take on Thailand on a new day and new match," de Kruif added.
Thai coach Phomart Choktavee said he has warned his players about the crowd pressure here.
"The boys are young and Bangladesh is playing on their home ground.  The pressure of the crowd is a concern to me and I've talked with the players about it. If they feel scared it would be more difficult for us. We're firmly focused to win the semifinal," the Thai coach added.