Geopolitical Lons and the inclusion of Hamza Choudhury forms the shock of Bangladesh against the Indian football team – Firstpost

The Indian football team again faces Bangladesh, this time in a crucial meeting – their opening match of the AFC Asian Cup 2027. He is a win -main group and there could not have been a more exciting start to Blue Tigers than a confrontation against their “noisy neighbors”. They will later face Hong Kong and Singapore in group C.

Why “noisy neighbors”? It is not a secret for anyone that players and fans of Bangladesh have always considered the South Asian rivals of India as a team that they should not lose. Whether it stems from the ego or the perception of India because the reference is questionable, but the status quo is undeniable. The same goes for cricket, and although football receives less coverage than cricket, passion and intensity with which Bangladesh players and fans tackle a game against India is not different.

In fact, the enthusiasm in the Bangladais media is just as high – some could even call it a resentment – because they appeared in large numbers to Shillong, the place of the match on Tuesday (March 25), exceeding their Indian counterparts.

The only lacking thing was a war cry of the team and it arrived late towards the pre-match press conference of Bangladesh when Captain Jamal Bhuyan quietly dropped a rallying call. “There is always pressure in each match, but the emphasis is on this match because it is against India. You know what happened in the past year,” said midfielder born in Denmark. “So we feel the pressure but we are cool.”

What happened in the past year? Has Jamal spoke of demonstrations that led to the ouster of the longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina or did Hasina talk about asylum in India? It is difficult to decipher the exact meanings of the Bangladesh skipper message which was delivered in its Bengali mother tongue, but it is clear that the next India VS Bangladesh football match is more than a simple game, at least for visitors.

It is impossible to ignore the geopolitical currents surrounding the competition. However, it is also important to consider the other side of history. India does not approach the match through the objective of geopolitics or sheikh Hasina looking for help from India after being forced to leave its own country. For them, it’s as usual.

“What I learned in football is that you are preparing,” said India defender Sandesh Jhingan, explaining the Blue Tigers approach. “And what I learned is that if you haven’t prepared yourself well, a team can beat you.

“It is not a question of focusing on the Bangladesh or any other team, it is a question of knowing if you have prepared the best possible way yourself. If you have done, you want to go to the field and try to give your best. It is this mentality or this kind of concentration that helps you go in each game with a lot of positive thoughts.

The controversy of pitch, the inclusion of Hamza and the yield of Chhetri dominate Ind vs Ban Ki-up

The addition of more intrigue to the match is the controversy of Pitch. Bangladesh reached four days in advance in Shillon instead of the usual two days to better prepare for the match. Consequently, they received the field from the North East Hill University (NEHU) to practice, but visitors found the conditions “underparameters” and moved to an Astroturf area.

Bangladesh’s football team coach Javier Cabrera played the controversy on the eve of the match, but the fire had already been on. “There was a lot of noise on this subject. Things could probably have been better, but it has already happened,” said Cabrera. “We find no excuse. Today, we are finally training at the stadium. We are going to get the most out of it. We are ready anyway. We are preparing very well.”

Cabrera also pointed out that the India VS Bangladesh match cannot concern Hamza Choudhury and Sunil Chhetri. While Chhetri, 40 years old, reversed his international retirement to strengthen the attack on India, Choudhury, a former Premier League player and winner of FA Cup, will be the most decorated player on the field at 27.

“It will be a competitive match. It will not only be Hamza and Chhetri. Tomorrow, it will be on the teams. A lot of respect for India, Chhetri, Manolo and its staff, but we really think we are ready for the battle,” Cabrera added.

Despite the addition of Hamza, it must be said that India (rank of FIFA 126) would participate in the competition as a favorite, after winning 14 of the 28 games against Bangladesh (FIFA Rank 185) and losing only four. The last time they lost against Bangladesh was in 2003.

India coach Manolo Marquez will try to protect this record during his first real test.

“We are still expecting the best version of the opponent. Our approach to each game is similar, who are the opponents – Maldives, Bangladesh, Hong Kong or Singapore. You have to know the good and bad things about them. But we cannot change our style of play. We know that if we play a good game, we will win (Tuesday)”, said Marquez.

The 56 -year -old man became an India coach after Igor Stimac failed to bring the Blue Tigers to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifications. An Asian cutting point is the minimum that Manolo should deliver.