New Delhi: Apart from putting together building blocks for the future, not much else is up for grabs for India and Bangladesh in their AFC Asian Cup qualifier after their early elimination from the race to be in Saudi Arabia in 2027.
With two points from four matches, both bottom-placed India and Bangladesh, who are placed a rung above, are out of contention to qualify.
Like Sunil Chhetri coming out of retirement didn’t help India, Hamza Choudhury’s naturalisation also didn’t quite pay rich dividends.
The midfielder, though, remains Bangladesh’s best bet score after his brace in a 2-2 draw with Nepal in a friendly four days ago at the National Stadium, the venue for Tuesday’s 7.30 pm kick-off.
The 41-year-old Chhetri, on the other hand, has been excluded from Khalid Jamil’s touring set of 23 players, who have been chosen for the trip to Dhaka after a 10-day training camp in Bengaluru.
Jamil has picked seven players who could get their maiden senior national team cap, while two more have only one match under their belt.
But he has been mindful of maintaining balance between youth and experience as familiar faces including Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan are present too.
“The new players also know the importance of this game. They are giving their best,” Jamil said at a media interaction on Monday.
‘Pressure’
Not much is at stake but a packed crowd is still expected as tickets of the match at the 22,000 seater stadium sold like hot cakes, as it is a chance to watch Choudhury, who has 57 appearances in the English Premier League for Leicester City, in the flesh.
Bangladesh have lost both their group home games, against Singapore (1-2) and Hong Kong (3-4) in the ongoing campaign while India have been poor travellers with a point in two matches (1-0 vs Hong Kong and 1-1 vs Singapore).
Yet, Bangladesh are never short on motivation when they meet India, and defended dourly on Choudhury’s debut for them in a 0-0 stalemate in the first leg on March 25.
India coach Khalid Jamil would look o field new faces against Bangladesh. Photo: @IndianFootball
“We know it’s a pressure game. But we need to keep our focus and build on our work to get a positive result,” Jamil said.
In their first meeting in Bangladesh in 22 years, Jamil would have to find a way for his team to score goals, the team’s achilles heel under successive coaches.
“We scored in Singapore and we are working on how to do it regularly,” Jamil told News9 Sports recently, when the goal shyness was pointed out.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Hrithik Tiwari, Sahil.
Defenders: Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bikash Yumnam, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Jay Gupta, Pramveer, Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan.
Midfielders: Brison Fernandes, Lalremtluanga Fanai, Macarton Louis Nickson, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Nikhil Prabhu, Suresh Singh Wangjam.
Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Mohammed Sanan, Rahim Ali, Ryan Williams, Vikram Partap Singh.
Head Coach: Khalid Jamil
Assistant Coach: Mahesh Gawali
Goalkeeping Coach: Feroz Sherif
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Chelston Pinto
Match details:
Kick-off: 7.30pm IST
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