Bangladesh men's national football team skipper Jamal Bhuyan said they are only focusing to win the match against India as the captain was found less bothered of the ranking gap between Bangladesh and India. Bangladesh take on their arch-rival India in their opening group C match of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers scheduled to be held on Tuesday (Mar 25) at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, India.
“Honestly we don’t think about the ranking... my focus is only how to win the match . I think this is the best squad so far as the coach mentioned... Hamza’s presence is definitely a big boost for us and we only want three points and prepared to give our best effort against India,” Jamal said at a pre-match press conference in Shillong, India on Monday, according to a message received in Dhaka from Bangladesh Football Federation on Monday (Mar24) afternoon.
Replying to a question Jamal said the mentality of all the team members are the same as they are focusing for win, but if the match ends in draw it would be ok.
The Bangladesh skipper replying to another query said: “Hamza’s inclusion in the squad is definitely a positive sign but the local players have also prepared for the game. The mentality has been changed because the way the players are playing is totally different since the coach took charge of the team. Lots of things have been changed and the players are now more ready than two years ago where they were in SAFF.”
When asked if he feels any extra pressure as the football fans are expecting win from Bangladesh, Jamal admitted that this match against India is off-course a pressure one but at the same time they are cool and want to win the match.
Bangladesh national football team’s head coach Javier Cabrera, who was also present in the press conference, said the match against India is going to be very much exciting.
He said the players are very much motivated and have been training hard in the last twenty four days. Boys are very confident and expecting a very tight game against India and hoped to make the things very difficult for the home side.
