The ghost of 2003 sneaks back as Bangladesh make the semi-finale in style. A dominating 4-0 triumph against a Sri Lanka team that has boasted itself with foreign artillery.
Did Bangladesh come as favorites for the cup or not, is a discussion that can take a backseat for a while, but the group stage did bring out some positive notes from where hope can be derived.
Bangladesh camp, in the recent past, have been very proactive with their non-residential players ever since Hamza Choudhury brought the emergence of football in the lives of sports fanatics. With both foreign and local options in the forward line, midfield and also in the defensive arc, it has been nothing short of legendary when Bangladesh football is concerned. The gelling between the expatriates and the local players have been very noticeable, as if the group has been playing together for years. One significant bridge between the two groups has verily been the recently-turned-former regular skipper, Jamal Bhuyan.
“I think it is one of the best goals at the National Stadium. Hamza’s bicycle kick and Farhaan (Ali Wahid)’s goal would be among the top three,” said Jamal after the win against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
It can be easily derived how Jamal can feel about all these, especially as he was the first one to bring foreign flavor in Bangladesh football. His statement, “Many people in Bangladesh say, ‘my Messi’ or ‘my Neymar’. But I think this is Farhaan Ali’s goal (against Sri Lanka), and nobody else’s,” is something that speaks volumes.
In hindsight, Hamza’s statement about creating chances really starts to reflect Bangladesh’s progress in the recent past.
“I’d be concerned if we weren’t creating chances. But the reality is, we are creating chances. I missed chances against Malaysia myself, right at the very end. But like I say, we’re creating chances, so In Shaa Allah we can start converting them,” Hamza said before the SL clash.
In the most common scenario, Hamza wouldn’t have been brewing with confidence as much if the crowd support and the fans did not act as the 12th man. He himself has admitted that all the zeal that comes out, it is for Bangladesh.
“It’s for Bangladesh. It’s for all the people. We are so proud, especially myself to represent Bangladesh. People show me so much support and so much love. Even when I was living in England, so many Bangladeshi fans would travel to watch the England games. So, it means a lot to me,” he noted.
To draw the line here, Bangladesh has been all but clinical. As much as the Sri Lanka game put the team on the pedestal, Bhutan game brings out equal frustration for the camp. Despite creating so many chances, Bangladesh only ended up scoring 1 goal. This exposed the lack of finishing ability of the players, especially in the forward line. Even though the Sri Lanka game saw four different scorers, the underlying problems still persists.
Another pressing point can be Thomas Dooley’s experimentation in almost every game. He might be testing out players to find the right combination, but this cannot go forever. With squad contemplation arising in almost every match, Bangladesh boss needs to find right players for the right spot.
A much more notable aspect that can tickle some senses, is the inclusion of the 19-year-old Mahe Khan, who previously represented Bangladesh Under 20 in the Asian Cup Qualifiers. With a primary role of a center-forward, Dooley’s camp could have taken lessons from the other young guns of the squad such as Farhaan, Zidane Yousuf or even Zayyan Ahmed, as Mahe would have been a perfect fit against Bhutan since that was the game Bangladesh struggled to score as much as they would have hoped to.
Bangladesh would need to find the groove as quickly as possible, as the next assignment is a knockout game with no margin of error. The upcoming match is against Pakistan, who according to Jamal is a “better team than Sri Lanka.” Therefore, as the stakes are higher, head coach Dooley needs to find the core balance of the team and make sure the best team on the given day, is Bangladesh.
