England-based footballer Hamza Choudhury has joined the national team practice upon arriving in Dhaka. Another expatriate footballer, Farhan Ali Wahid, was also scheduled to join practice at the same time but arrived late in Dhaka due to flight complications. As a result, Bangladesh is getting the opportunity to practice with a full squad ahead of their crucial match against Sri Lanka.
Host Bangladesh played their first match in the SAFF Championship against Bhutan without midfielder Hamza and winger Farhan. The Red-Green team started the tournament with a victory, thanks to Mohammad Ibrahim’s sole goal. Later, with the match between Sri Lanka and Bhutan ending in a 2-2 draw, Bangladesh has secured their semi-final spot with one match still in hand.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, Bangladesh will play their final group stage match against Sri Lanka. If they win this match, the hosts will advance to the semi-finals as group toppers. With that goal in mind, coach Thomas Dooley’s team is scheduled to practice today with a full squad.
Both Hamza and Farhan had departed from England for Dhaka at the same time. Hamza arrived in Dhaka in the morning and joined the team’s practice. However, Farhan got stuck due to connecting flight complications while traveling from England via Qatar to Dhaka. He arrived in Dhaka later than scheduled. This young forward is now getting the opportunity to recover from the fatigue of the long journey and adapt with the team.
In Group ‘A’, Bangladesh leads with three points from one match. Bhutan is in the next position with one point from two matches. Sri Lanka also has one point, but they have played only one match. The remaining group dynamics will depend on the outcome of the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka match.
Meanwhile, in Group ‘B’, the competition between India and Pakistan has intensified. Pakistan started the tournament with a loss to India in their first match. However, they secured their semi-final spot by defeating Maldives 3-0 in the next match. The result of the match between India and Maldives will determine which country will advance to the semi-finals as the second team from the group.
This SAFF Championship, spectator attendance has also been a topic of discussion off the field. From the beginning, low spectator numbers have been observed in the galleries for the tournament matches. Even in Bangladesh’s match against Bhutan, the approximate attendance was about 10,000. In other matches, the galleries were almost empty. It remains to be seen whether the arrival of Hamza and Farhan will increase spectator interest.