On Tuesday, March 25, India and Bangladesh will face off for the twenty ninth time in worldwide soccer. The subcontinental rivalry, maybe the most important within the area, has been dominated by the Blue Tigers, who’ve received 14 contests — together with the primary one on the 1978 Asian Games — misplaced simply 4, and 10 have led to attracts, as per the AIFF Media Team. The final decade or so has seen loads of dramatic moments every time the neighbours have clashed – be it Adil Khan’s 88th-minute header that erupted the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in 2019, or Sunil Chhetri’s Ninety fifth-minute free-kick within the 2013 SAFF Championship.
The final senior-level assembly within the 2021 SAFF Championship led to a 1-1 draw, with Sunil Chhetri discovering the online. The India captain has netted six of India’s final seven targets towards Bangladesh, who’re statistically certainly one of his favorite worldwide opponents. He additionally scored the penalty within the 1-0 win within the 2023 Asian Games, the place he was included as one of many over-aged gamers within the U23 squad.
To seek for Bangladesh’s final win over India, it’s a must to return greater than 20 years after they received 2-1 in additional time on the 2003 SAFF Championship semi-final in Dhaka. On Indian soil, the Blue Tigers have by no means misplaced to the Bengal Tigers.
Defender Sandesh Jhingan saved a clear sheet in a 2-0 win towards Bangladesh within the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2021 and likewise performed alongside Chhetri as one of many over-aged gamers on the 2023 Asian Games.
“Whenever we face Bangladesh, we at all times know that it should be a recreation with a whole lot of ardour and excessive depth. Of course, they’re our neighbours, so you may anticipate that, not simply in soccer, however in each sport. The final time we confronted them was on the Asian Games in China. It was a tricky recreation, and we received 1-0. Before, too, within the World Cup Qualifiers, it was a slim victory,” Sandesh Jhingan mentioned, as quoted by the AIFF official web site.
Bangladesh is ranked 185th within the FIFA Rankings, 59 locations under India, which is 126th. But Jhingan said that Bangladesh can’t be taken flippantly regardless of the on-paper distinction.
“I anticipate them to be at their finest, and you can not take any recreation simply, particularly if you come into the Qualifiers, and the load of these three factors is loads. Whoever the opponents are, we’ve got to play at our full potential, and we’ll get the job performed,” mentioned Jhingan.
While India is aiming to qualify for the Asian Cup for the third successive time, Bangladesh has solely certified as soon as before–in 1980. There’s room for only one this time, because the group winners will make it to the ultimate event in Saudi Arabia in two years’ time. Singapore and Hong Kong, who additionally meet on Tuesday, are the opposite two groups in Group C.
In the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2, Bangladesh completed Group I winless and in final place with a solitary level from a draw at house towards Lebanon, whereas struggling heavy defeats towards Australia and Palestine. In September 2024, they acquired a win and a loss towards Bhutan in two friendlies. In November, they misplaced 0-1 and received 2-1 in two friendlies towards Maldives, the identical opponents India beat 3-0 final Wednesday.
Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera, additionally a Spaniard like Manolo Marquez, has been in-charge of the Bengal Tigers since 2022. The 40-year-old has prior Indian connection, having served because the assistant coach of Sporting Clube de Goa between 2013 and 2015. Captain and midfielder Jamal Bhuyan, who has the best caps in Bangladesh historical past at 87, has additionally been concerned in Indian soccer, taking part in for Mohammedan Sporting in 2020-21.
The spotlight of the Bangladesh squad is 27-year-old midfielder Hamza Choudhury, a former England youth worldwide who lately acquired his Bangladeshi passport and switched allegiance to the nation of his mom’s start. Other key gamers in Cabrera’s squad embody skilled midfielder Sohel Rana, defender Topu Barman, who’s the best worldwide scorer within the squad with six targets, younger midfielders Shekh Morsalin and Mojibur Rahman Jony, and ahead Rakib Hossain. Five-time Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings predominate the nationwide squad, with as many as 11 gamers hailing from the membership.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
