The Argentine coach made wholesale changes to the side, who won 2-1 against Cambodia and 3-0 against Guam, bringing in eight players from the bench for yesterday's match against Palestine.

The Group D clash ended in a draw and rookies like Zahed Parvez and debutant Wali Faisal filled in the places of their predecessors perfectly.

"I am very happy because they are very young players and are playing in their first international tournament. I sent them to the field because I believed in them and they have proved that they are the future of Bangladesh," said Crucani whose side is expected to face Tajikistan in the quarterfinals unless the Group C pulls off any upset today.

"I would not like to name any single player but the whole team work was satisfactory. Aminul played brilliantly, but we all expect this from him because he is an outstanding goalkeeper. Although we drew against the favourites, I still think Palestine are a better team than us. And we need to improve if we want to advance in the tournament," said the 42-year-old, who had pulled a similar trick against India in the last group match of the SAFF Championship.

"I did it in Pakistan because we were already in the next stage. And now we needed to rest some tired legs, injured players and especially defender Rajani, who is on one yellow card."

When asked whether the impressive show by the second-string players has given him any selection headache, the coach mentioned that he would wait to know about their opposition in the knockout stage before giving it a thought.

"All matches are final for us and I will pick the best team, mostly with players strong physically and mentally."

When asked about the prospect of meeting Tajikistan, a team higher than Bangladesh in the FIFA rankings, in the last eight, he said that he did not 'believe in FIFA rankings'.

"It is deceptive. Myanmar are lower in ranking but I feel they are a much better side."

Palestine coach Mohammed Sabbah admitted that his opponents played a very good game.

"Bangladeshi players' fitness level is better. Our players seemed tired because of high humidity and we had problems in substitutions due to a few injuries. I had only 15 players fit for today's game and I used 14," said Sabbah.

"The conditions were difficult and it affected our performance today. But I am looking forward to our next matches."