Hamza wants to win 'big match' against India

After landing in Dhaka on Monday evening, Bangladesh star midfielder Hamza Choudhury expressed his desire to secure a victory over India in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers on November 18.

Before facing their neighbours, Bangladesh will play a preparatory match against Nepal on November 13 at the National Stadium. Another key midfielder, Shamit Shome, is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka early Wednesday, just one day before the Nepal fixture.

"I'm happy to return to Dhaka as we will play a couple of matches against India and Nepal," Hamza said in a video message released by the Bangladesh Football Federation on Monday.

Hamza had been expected to arrive at 12:00 pm but reached Dhaka five hours later due to a flight delay that forced him to travel on a different plane.

"I want to send a message to everyone that everything is positive. Obviously, our last result was not the best, but we made a lot of progress. We want to win against India because it is a big match for Bangladesh. We all are excited and we all have been toiling hard. I hope everyone will be happy," added Hamza, who is set to join training on Tuesday after Monday's session was suspended.

Meanwhile, all gallery tickets for the November 18 fixture were sold out within minutes, despite Bangladesh having already been eliminated after losing three matches and drawing one. Bangladesh currently sit above India in the four-team group with both sides on two points. A win over India could help Bangladesh improve their position ahead of their final group match against Singapore in March next year.