Desk Report:
Ticket sales were sold out within half an hour of the start of the sale. It can be said that the gallery of the National Stadium will be full on October 9. Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuiyan does not want to disappoint the 22,000 spectators. In the fight for survival, he has no alternative but to win against Hong Kong that day.
Bangladesh is third in the ‘C’ group points list with 1 point in the Asian Cup qualifiers. In October, they have two matches against the strongest team in the group, Hong Kong. Although the first match is at home, the second match will be on Hong Kong soil (October 14). Jamal wants to go with the memory of Hong Kong’s victory.
The national team camp has started from today. Jamal told reporters at the team hotel, ‘I think everyone is healthy, ready. The next match is a matter of survival. Honestly, if we lose in the next match, there will be no chance of qualifying.’
The captain does not want to send the spectators back empty-handed, ‘The spectators have come to get something in return for their money, right? And that is 3 points. We want to get that against Hong Kong.’
Mohammedan Sporting Club has also followed the path shown by Bashundhara Kings. The current league champions have not had a good start to domestic football. After losing to Bashundhara in the Challenge Cup, they also started the league by losing to Fortis. They are not releasing the footballers called up to the national team for now in order to find the right combination.
Without those 6 footballers, the national team camp has started with the Hong Kong match in the Asian Cup qualifiers ahead. 20 footballers reported to the team hotel yesterday. Italy expatriate Fahamidul Islam will arrive in Dhaka today. Hamza Chowdhury and Shamit Shome will join the team on October 6 and 7.
Earlier, Bashundhara Kings did not release their players in advance with the Nepal match ahead. Mohammedan players will join 72 hours before the match to be held at the National Stadium on October 9. Regarding their absence at the beginning, coach Javier Cabrera said, ‘There will be an impact. To be honest, we didn’t expect Mohammedan’s players to be absent. But that happened in September too. We managed it even then. Hopefully everything will be resolved soon.’
Zayan Ahmed is a new face in Cabrera’s 29-member squad. The US-born left-back shone at the U-23 Asian Cup. Cabrera said, ‘He plays in a position where we believe he can give us something extra. There may be a lack of experience in professional football. But I think if he practices with the national team, with the seniors, we can expect more from him.’
