Kolkata: All eyes would be on reigning Indian Super League champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant when they face Bangladesh Army in an opening round match of the 132nd edition of Durand Cup, here Thursday.
With only group toppers and two best second-placed teams making the quarterfinals cut, the Mariners find themselves in a virtual pool of death and will have their tasks cut out.
Besides the armed forces team from Bangladesh, Mohun Bagan are clubbed with arch-rivals East Bengal and Punjab FC, the I-League champions who have become the first team to get promotion to top-tier ISL.
While seniors are short on game time, the youth team have played five matches, winning four and drawing one in the Calcutta Football League Premier Division this season.
Youth team coach Bastab Roy is the designated coach for the tournament and he has insisted to field a mix of youth and senior sides.
“Ours is the group of death but as always at Mohun Bagan, we always embrace the challenge, we will try our best to make a winning start,” Roy said.
Without disclosing the combination, Roy said he would be a mix of youth and senior players.
Bangladesh Army FT, one of the two foreign teams participating in the 2023 Durand Cup, completes Group A.
This is the first time in 27 years that this prestigious tournament will see foreign teams participating, and they will surely aim to spoil the party of the three ISL clubs.
The Durand Cup, which is the oldest football tournament in Asia and the third oldest in the world, will run till September 3.
This time the tournament will also be played in Guwahati and Kokrajhar.
This is the first time in the history of the Durand Cup that it will feature 24 teams, with the teams divided into six groups of four each.
Nineteen Indian clubs and five armed forces teams from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh will participate in this edition, marking the first time in 27 years that a foreign team will join the tournament.
The six group winners and the two best second-placed teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Bengaluru FC are the defending champions, having secured victory by defeating Mumbai City FC 2-1 in the Durand Cup 2022 final.
PTI
