Palestine and Seychelles will face each other at the semi-final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup International Football Tournament today at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. The kick-off will be at 5pm.

After having topped a demanding Group B ahead of hosts Bangladesh, Palestine will go into the game as firm favourites. But their head coach, Daboub Makram, knows that his side will face a tough challenge posed by their African opponent, Seychelles. He said yesterday that Palestine were refreshed and ready for the semi-final battle.

“We're now focusing on the semi-final game, which is the only gateway to the final.  Inshallah, I have confidence in my players; they will win,” he also said.

“We watched two matches of Seychelles, but our full focus is on the next match. Palestine are always positive. Both sides are physically almost equal. We played some African sides—Tanzania, Morocco (Under-23), Sudan, Libya and Algeria. We lost to Moroccan (Under-23) and Algeria by solitary goals and drew against Sudan, Tanzania, and Libya by 1-1. Inshallah, tomorrow we will win,” he added.

Seychelles will face a major challenge from Palestine, who also happen to be the defending champions. Their head coach, Ralph Louis Jean, yesterday said: “We're happy to qualify for the semi-final. But we had very little time to prepare. We had only one session practice session. Okay, let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

He also said his side did not have much experience at the international level. “We usually have the opportunity to play four matches a year. The boys only have the experience of playing at the regional level. If we can win this tournament, it would be a great achievement for us,” he also said.

“I think our players have a lot of potential. I believe they can do more, but we are currently doing what we can do. They’re putting hard shifts in training,” he added..

The match can be watched live on RTV and BTV. Bangladesh Betar will air the live commentary of the game.