India Face Tricky Bangladesh Challenge In AFC Asian Cup Qualfiers, To Play Against Hamza Choudhury
A 3-0 battery of the Maldives in its first international match of the year will certainly strengthen their confidence, but India will be wary of a delicate bangladesh in its match of the AFC 2027 Asian Cup qualification here on Tuesday. India won a dominant victory over the Maldives of the lower rank here on March 19, which marked the first victory under the charge of Manolo Marquez. The victory was also significant while the Talismanic Sunil Chhetri led the team with a superb goal from his international return, his 95th in a jersey in India.
Bangladesh was familiar but delicate for rivals for India and, historically, it was not easy outings each time the two parties clashed. India is however currently ranked much higher in the FIFA table – 126th against 185th in Bangladesh.
The last match between the two games ended with a 1-1 draw at the SAFF 2021 championships in the Maldives, Chhetri marking the goal of India. Chhetri also scored the two goals of India in the 2-0 victory against their eastern neighbors in a round match of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Bangladesh will imagine their chances because they came with the player of the English Premier League (EPL), Hamza Choudhury, who currently plays for Sheffield United on loan from Leicester City.
But the head coach of India Marquez is not unduly worried about Hamza and said that his team would win on Tuesday if they played according to his plan.
“Hamza, of course, is a good player who played in the Premier League. It is good not only for Bangladesh but Asian football that these players play for the national team. His teammates will be very motivated to play with him,” said Marquez at the pre-match press conference.
“We are always expecting the best version of our opponents. Our approach to each game is similar, who are the opponents – Maldives, Bangladesh, Hong Kong or Singapore. You have to know the right and bad about them. But we cannot change our style of play. We know that if we play a good game, we will win tomorrow,” said Marquez.
Tuesday’s match is important to India, because any discharge period could be disastrous in their attempt to go to the AFC 2027 Asian Cup. The team could have gone to the main tournament during the qualification campaign of the second round last year, but failed to do so after losing two crucial games that led to the dismissal of the chief coach, Igor Stimac.
India is placed in group C of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying the third round with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore, and only the best team after six home and outside games qualify for the continental centerpiece.
With the margin of error in each very low match, Marquez labeled the qualifications as “six finals”.
“The first match is still important. It’s a short competition, only the best team qualifies for the tournament,” said the Spaniard.
“There are six games and we have to finish first. We want to get as much points as possible to qualify for Saudi Arabia (2027 host countries of the AFC Asian Cup).
Commenting Chhetri finding the target on his international return, Marquez said: “Sunil is a legend of Indian football and the top scorer of the season. We had brand problems in my first games, but not to create chances. I think it is an excellent addition for us.
“Bangladesh has very good players. They had the same coach (Javier Cabrera) for three years with the same philosophy. Most of the players are the same because they played against the Maldives last November. Continuity is important.
The defender of Key India Sandesh Jhingan, who accompanied Marquez at the press conference, said: “We are still expecting him (Chhetri) to score goals. He is 95. We are happy to bring him back. With the quality he has, he is a threat to each team, not just Bangladesh.
“One thing we know is that every time India plays Bangladesh, we expect a match full of high intensity, passion and adrenaline, whether in football or in any sport. We focus on our result. If you are well prepared, you can beat any team, and if not a team can fight you. We are going in every match with a positive attitude,” said the 31 year.
Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera, a Spaniard as Marquez, said: “It will be an exciting game. We are very motivated. The team has been training and working hard for 24 days.
“We are confident, stronger than ever, and we expect a tight match. I hope we make things very difficult for India.
Captain and midfielder of Bangladesh, Jamal Bhuyan, who previously played for the sports Mahometan in the I-League, said: “It feels good to be back in India. I have good memories here, so, of course, I am excited for the match of tomorrow. We know that it will be difficult, but we will give our best.”
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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