‘India tie more than a football match’

Still reeling from the stoppage time equaliser from Nepal that denied them a win on Thursday, Bangladesh are shifting their focus to the AFC Asian Cup Qualifying tie against India.

Before squaring off against the neighbours India on November 18 at the National Stadium, the men in red and green had a preparatory friendly against Nepal in Dhaka, which ended a 2-2 draw.

The charges of Javier Cabrera could hardly impress with the exception of Hamza Choudhury, who struck twice inside four minutes in the second half, first with a wonderous bicycle kick and then with an audacious panenka penalty kick, that put the hosts 2-1 in front after conceding in the first half.

The hosts were less than three minutes away from earning their first win over Nepal in five years before conceding in the stoppage time, something that has turned into a habit.

Defender Saad Uddin, however, felt they were unlucky as he termed Ananta Tamang's equaliser "unbelievable".

"We were unlucky because we defended set pieces well in the last few matches including the last away match against Hong Kong," the 27-year-old defender said. "We still can't believe we conceded a goal like that from zero angle even with such tight marking. The blame always falls on the defenders for conceding goals but people should look at how we concede them.

"The defenders face huge pressure from the opponents in the last 10 minutes as we don't hold the possession in the midfield or upfront. There may be a lack of understanding among the players who are coming off the bench at the last moment," said Saad, who has played 44 international matches so far.

The experienced right-back said, "Everyone was alert in the last moments. It still seems unbelievable to us, conceding from that angle. No one can be blamed for that goal."

The Bashundhara Kings defender is now looking forward to the India tie which he labelled as 'more than a football match'.

"We are focused on the India match and the tie against Nepal was a friendly. We have to rectify the silly mistakes we made against Nepal, and return stronger against India because the tie against India is more than a football match for us. So, the mindset will be different compared to the game against Nepal," said Saad, who scored in a 1-1 draw against India in Kolkata in 2019.

The 27-year-old defender believed the attacking lineup will be more balanced with the inclusions of Shamit Shome and Sheikh Morsalin, who could not start against Nepal due to jet-leg and injury respectively.

With Bangladesh and India both out of contention for a place in the main competition, the match will be a battle for pride, with Saad still feeling the 0-0 draw against India in the first leg on March 25, should have ended in a victory for his side.

"We deserved to win over India in the away match where we created three chances in the first 20 minutes while India could not muster a single shot on target," Saad said. "I think we will also get goal-scoring chances against India in the home match and if we can take an early lead within 20 to 25 minutes, then India will be under pressure."