The two neighboring countries Bangladesh and India are going to face each other in the Asian Cup qualifiers in the evening. The discussion about this match is more than ever before. Hamza Chowdhury, who plays in the English Premier League, is making his debut in the red and green jersey with today’s match. On the other hand, legendary footballer Sunil Chhetri has returned to the Indian team after breaking his retirement.
The match will start at 7 pm local time (7:30 pm Bangladesh time) in Shillong, the capital of the hilly state of Meghalaya. Apart from the fans of both teams, the people of Shillong are also excited about today’s match. Although football is very popular and practiced in the northeastern region of India, India did not play an international football match in Shillong before March 19.
Today’s match is a turning point for both teams. Football was at its peak in Bangladesh from the post-independence period until the nineties. In the last two decades, football was behind the popularity of cricket. The English league footballer has revived that old love of football by becoming the whistler of Hamilton for Bangladesh. For the past week, the eyes of the people of Bangladesh have been on the India match.
Bangladesh played in the main stage of the Asia Cup only once in 1980. After playing in that tournament in Kuwait, they could never play in the main stage again. This time, there was already a possibility due to the format and the group opponents. The addition of Hamza Chowdhury has given more impetus to that team. India is the top seeded neighboring country in Bangladesh’s group. If they can take three points in the away match against India today, they will also be able to gain the mentality to defeat the other two opponents in the group, Hong Kong and Singapore.
India is ahead of Bangladesh in the rankings. With the arrival of Hamza Chowdhury, the value of the Bangladesh team is now much higher than before. At the end of the day, football is a team game. It is difficult to win a match with the special skill or brilliance of one person. India is quite strong in home matches there. Even then, Bangladesh can give some hope because the opponent is India. Because in the last two decades, even though they could not beat Bangladesh-India, they played every match as if they had won, sometimes drawing or losing at the last minute. When there was a fierce battle with the Chhetris without Hamza, it is not unreasonable to expect a win with Hamza.
Where will you watch the game?
The excitement among football fans across the country is at its peak regarding Hamza Chowdhury’s debut match. T-Sports is providing the opportunity to watch the match live on television. If you want, you can also watch it on T-Sports’ app.
