As Bangladesh brace for the Australian onslaught in their World Cup and Asian Cup joint qualifier on September 3 with an outright defensive display in mind, the man who might have to play the most important role is goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel.

The Sheikh Jamal goalkeeper, who had has been part of the national team for the last four years but lost his place to other keepers quite a few times, has seemingly reinstalled the confidence of the team management and the coaching staff with a brilliant performance in the recent friendly against Malaysia following some valiant displays for his club in the AFC Cup Play-off Qualifiers.

Sohel made a number of saves from close range to hold the Malaysians to a goalless draw in last Saturday's friendly, which seems to have charged him up for the Australia challenge. The lad from Chittagong said he feels no pressure and is ready to put up his natural display against the Socceroos.

“I don't have any additional pressure because I want to play my own game,” said Sohel over the phone from Perth, Australia yesterday. “Everyone is telling me that I have played well against Malaysia and I want to carry that performance into the match against Australia.”

“I don't know what will happen against Australia and I also don't want to keep that in mind. Whatever happens, I will be trying to put my best effort,” said Sohel.

The goalkeeper was out of action for nearly one-and-a-half month following a knee injury during the latter part of the Bangladesh Premier League. He went into rehabilitation phased where he trained under goalkeeping coach Christian Schweichler before returning to action at the fag end of the league.

Replacing Mazharul Islam Himel as Sheikh Jamal's number one, Sohel had some fine performances as the Dhanmondi giants earned a play-off spot in the AFC Cup.  With their backs to the wall, Sohel almost single-handily kept FC Alga Bishkek at bay at their own backyard to earn his side the play-off spot. Those performances helped him earn back his place in the national team after missing the first two qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan at home in June.

“I have improved a lot under Christian (Schweichler), admitted the tall goalkeeper.  “I have learnt a lot of things from him and I think that's why my performance graph is going upward.”

However, Sohel knows that the Socceroos, at their own turf, will be a completely different challenge altogether. So he conceded that Bangladesh will have to put on a collective effort, beginning from himself and the defenders right up to those in the front line to keep the four-time World Cuppers at bay.

“To overcome the challenge of the Australian attack, not only goalkeeper but also the defenders and the rest of the team, will have to play as a unit,” said Sohel.