Denmark-born Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan gave a subtle hint of how much pressure his team is under for Tuesday’s AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers Final Round Group A match against India at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong.
“Everyone back home wants us to win this match. There are expectations and we are trying to cope with that. When you play against your elder brother you will always want to win. We want to win against India.
“There is pressure in every match. But this match is different, there is more focus on this clash. That’s because it’s India and you all know what happened in the last one year (in Bangladesh). So we are feeling the pressure and at the same time we are cool,” Bhuyan said in Bengali interspersed with English at the pre-match news conference on Monday.
Hamza Choudhury (right) of Bangladesh attends a training session in Shillong. AIFF
Bangladesh has been going through a tumultuous time since early 2024. Sheikh Hasina’s regime was ousted by a violent mass movement and at present there is an interim government with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus as its chief adviser.
Bangladesh Football Federation’s seriousness could be gauged from the fact that it had stopped the league for one month to prepare for this match.
India defender Sandesh Jhingan though did not want to read too much into this.
“This depends on that particular country. Not every country can stop the league (for an international match),” Jhingan said.
“If they stopped the competition, it’s better for them because they have more time to prepare. But as a national team coach, when you arrive for this job, you know more or less that you won’t have too many days to train. But this is what it is. It’s not an excuse,” India coach Manolo Marquez said.
Sunil Chhetri during practice ahead of their AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Bangladesh in Shillong on Monday. Angshuman Roy
The Spaniard got less than two weeks to prepare for the match. India, however, played an international friendly against the Maldives last week.
The build-up to this match — the opening qualifying game for both teams — is all about two players.
Sunil Chhetri’s decision to come back from international retirement to help India qualify for the main round grabbed the headlines and his 95th international goal on his
return last week was sort of a dress rehearsal for Tuesday’s clash.
“Sunil is a legend in Indian football and the top-scorer of the season.
“We had problems scoring in my first few games, but not in creating chances though. I think he’s a great addition for us,” Marquez said.
“We’re always expecting him (Chhetri) to score goals. We’re happy to have him back. With the quality he has, he’s a threat to every team, not just Bangladesh,” was Jhingan’s take.
And for the visitors, it’s Hamza Choudhury. Hamza, who played for Leicester City in the English Premier League and is currently on loan at Sheffield United, has decided to turn up for Bangladesh. His Grenadian father and Bangladeshi mother are in Shillong to watch the match.
The 27-year-old represented England at the youth level and his presence in the Bangladesh line-up gives a different dimension. An amiable character — Hamza greeted The Telegraph with a smile and ‘Apni from India?’ (are you from India?) in a distinct Sylhet accent — he will give more steel to the Bangladesh midfield.
But Marquez is not unduly worried about Hamza and said his side will win on Tuesday if they play according to his plan.
“Hamza, obviously, is a good player who was playing in the Premier League. It’s good not just for Bangladesh but for Asian football too. Such players playing for the national team is always a plus,” Marquez said.
“We always expect the best version of our opponents. Our approach to every game is similar, whoever the opponents are — the Maldives, Bangladesh, Hong Kong or Singapore. You need to know the good and bad about them. But we can’t change our style of play.
“We know if we play a good game, we will win tomorrow,” he added.
With the margin for error in each match very low, Marquez labelled the qualifiers as ‘six finals’.
“The first game is always important. It’s a short competition, only the top team qualifies for the tournament,” said the Spaniard. “There are six games and we need to finish first. We want to get the maximum points possible to qualify for Saudi Arabia (2027 AFC Asian Cup host country).