Sunil Chhetri, Hamza Choudhury in focus as India face Bangladesh | Football News

Sunil Chhetri scored in his first game back from overturning international retirement. He will play his second game against Bangladesh. (Image: X/IndianFootballTeam)

Shillong: How much can one footballer influence the fate of a team or the course of its history? Sunil Chhetri made some good points on that with a strike in his comeback for India vs Maldives in the friendly last week as the hosts returned to winning ways after over a year of winless results.
And while he and coach Manolo Marquez will look to carry that momentum into the crucial AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Bangladesh here on Tuesday, their opponents on the day will be eager for the trump card up their sleeve, Hamza Choudhury, to earn their first win against India since 2003.
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The lead-up to the teams’ opening Group C match at JN Stadium here may have been dominated by the hype surrounding two footballers – one, the third highest active scorer in international football after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and the other, a veteran of 57 Premier League matches for Leicester City.

But all 22 players on the pitch will have to play their roles well to churn out three points and take a positive step towards qualification for Saudi Arabia 2027. “I think it’s exciting having Hamza and having Sunil back. It’s going to be really competitive. But it’s not going to be only about them,” Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera said on Monday. “If we win tomorrow, it will not only be for Hamza.”
His fellow Spaniard and Indian counterpart Marquez echoed the same feelings for a Chhetri-inspired India while also acknowledging the importance of starting the qualifiers on a winning note, with matches against Hong Kong and Singapore to follow thereafter. “The first game is obviously very important. It’s a short competition, only the top team qualifies for the tournament. There are six games and we need to finish first. We want to get the maximum points possible to qualify for Saudi Arabia,” he said on match eve on Monday.

Already laden with injury woes, the latest being in-form Brandon Fernandes against Maldives, it will be interesting to see if Marquez utilises the pace of the young Macarton Nickson or the experience of Udanta Singh — the new inductees into the squad — to make up for Fernandes’ absence on Tuesday.
He will, however, have been impressed by performances of Hmingthanmawia Ralte at right-back and, going forward, goalscorer Liston Colaco down the left, debutant Ayush Dev Chhetri in midfield, and the aerial prowess of Rahul Bheke, and will hope for them to carry the show vs Bangladesh.
However, India have drawn two of their last three matches against Bangladesh, all of which came in the Igor Stimac era, and were lucky to get away with a point through Adil Khan’s late equaliser in their last clash. While the hosts will be wary of a motivated Bangladesh having Sheffield United’s Choudhury making his debut for his national team, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Choudhury is pushed further upfield, unlike the deeper midfield role he occupies for his clubs in England, to make a difference with his quality higher up.

Also, the partnership that he scripts with skipper and veteran Jamal Bhuyan in the middle could well decide Bangladesh’s fortunes in this match and throughout the qualifying campaign.
“We know it’s not only Hamza, they have other good players. (And) the same coach for the last three years with the same philosophy. Continuity is obviously important in any team,” acknowledged the Indian coach, adding, “But I feel that if we play a good game, we will win this one. But obviously, if you ask Javi Cabrera the same, he will say the opposite.”
Tuesday will reveal which Spaniard emerges on top in the South Asian derby or if the cycle of draws between them continues.