The Indian senior males’s soccer staff starts its qualification campaign for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup by taking up Bangladesh within the first outing of the ultimate spherical Group-C qualifiers on the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium right here on Tuesday.
India finds its sturdy report against Bangladesh (14 wins, 10 attracts and 4 losses) challenged because the customer introduced the arrival of Leicester City midfielder and former England U-21 participant Hamza Choudhury, who just lately obtained a Bangladesh passport.
Captain Jamal Bhuyan will hope to guide Bangladesh to its first win against India since 2003.
This is juxtaposed against the return of the talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri, who ended his worldwide retirement and joined the Indian facet to bolster its assault.
This has positively heightened the depth of the competition because the Blue Tigers attempt to safe their place in the principle stage of the Asian Cup correct, for the third time in succession.
Having beforehand certified for the Asian Cup most important stage in 2019 and 2023, India’s present prospect largely is determined by how Chhetri conjures up his facet to safe the required factors and prime the group, which additionally has Hong Kong and Singapore.
India’s preparations have been dampened by accidents to some key gamers however head coach Manolo Marquez appeared to have managed some good replacements.
With his facet set to play six matches (three dwelling and three away), Marquez has reminded his gamers to deal with the third spherical of the qualifiers as ‘six finals’.
“The first game is always important in a short competition like this where only the top team qualifies for the tournament. There are six games and we need to finish first. We want to get the maximum points possible to qualify for Saudi Arabia,” Marquez stated.
“I am feeling confident about my team. We can assume that the problem of scoring goals can be addressed with the return of Sunil, who is a legend in Indian football. We did not have a problem in creating chances but needed someone who could convert them,” Marquez added.
The key man in India’s defence, Sandesh Jhingan, stated that the staff was centered on getting the consequence. “One thing we know is that whenever India plays Bangladesh, we expect a match full of high intensity, passion and adrenaline, be it in football or any sport. We are focused on getting the result and we are going into the game with a positive attitude,” Jhingan stated.
The Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera stated his facet had ready for the match for nearly a month and was assured of creating issues troublesome for India. “We are very much motivated. The team has been training and working hard for 24 days already and we expect a very tight game and hopefully, we will make things very difficult for India,” Cabrera stated.
Published – March 24, 2025 11:10 pm IST
