Jamal Bhuiyan, the most-capped player in Bangladesh’s history, is slowly becoming a peripheral figure in the team despite being the captain. To know his views on this issue and his overall plans in football, The Daily Star's Anisur Rahman and Atique Anam caught up with the Denmark-born midfielder. Following are the excerpts of the interview.
Cabrera hails debutant's impact
The public outcry over the departure of Italy-based Bangladeshi footballer Fahamedul Islam from the national team carried over to the second day with the sports adviser Asif Mahmud and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Tabith Awal having to weigh in on the issue today.
Cabrera, who had a meeting with Hamza in Dhaka tonight, revealed that the entire squad was eager to welcome him and start preparing for the crucial clash against India.
Bangladesh football team head coach Javier Cabrera said Italy-based Bangladeshi footballer Fahamedul Islam was sent home after the national team’s camp in Saudi Arabia as the youngster needs more time to adapt and there are more suitable options available in the squad at the moment.
The Bangladesh national football team scored more than 12 goals in a match on Thursday. At first glance, this might seem like an extraordinary feat, a reason to celebrate the team's attacking prowess -- especially since Bangladesh are not known for scoring heavily at the international level.
National team forward Mohammad Ibrahim said all the players are eager for a place in the starting eleven, particularly because the opposition is India, as the men in red and green continue to ramp up preparations in training for their Asian Cup Qualifiers match on March 25 against their neighbours.
The men in red and green are expected to fly out to India on March 19, a day after Hamza Chowdhury is expected to join the team in Dhaka.
Sheffield United midfielder Hamza Choudhury has been named alongside Italy-based young midfielder Fahamedul Islam in the 38-member preliminary squad for Bangladesh’s first Asian Cup Qualifiers match against India, which will be held in Shilong on March 25.
The Spaniard took heart from the fact that his team came out with a victory despite not being in the best of shape and having to deal with the high altitude of Thimphu.
Bangladesh football team were expecting tough competition from Bhutan in the two FIFA friendly fixtures, the first of which kicks off at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu at 6:00pm today. And that is not necessarily due to the strength of the opposition but also an apparent lack of match-practice and fitness of the Bangladesh players.
Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera has expressed his optimism about getting Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury in the Bangladesh camp soon, after the midfielder received his Bangladesh passport on Friday and sent a letter to the Bangladesh Football Federation expressing his desire to represent the Red and Greens.
Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera has found one positive in the team's 4-0 defeat against Lebanon in Qatar on Tuesday in what was the last World Cup Qualifier fixture for the Men in Red and Green.
Bangladesh stood their ground against Australia in their second leg match of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, but couldn’t avoid a 2-0 defeat against the superior opponents on a ‘heavy’ field at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka on Thursday.
The Australia coach did not hesitate to criticise the playing surface offered at Kings Arena.
Bangladesh are eager to give visiting Australia a tough time when they square off in a Group I fixture of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Dhaka today.
Cabrera had previously referred to Salahuddin's comment as his personal opinion.
The BFF boss watched from the VIP Box of the Bashundhara Kings Arena on Tuesday as Bangladesh conceded a stoppage time goal in a 1-0 home loss against the Middle Eastern nation, five days after being thrashed 5-0 by the same side in Kuwait.
Bangladesh nearly pulled off a highly improbable feat of escaping with a point to maintain their unbeaten run at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka yesterday but ended up succumbing to a 1-0 defeat against Palestine in a Group I fixture of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
