For sports fans, the right result can work as a magic tonic. The perfect example is the Bangladesh cricket team!
A few weeks ago, their unexpected bowing out from the Asia Cup was hard to digest, but then, the team redeemed itself through a clinical whitewash of Afghanistan in the T20 series.
The last match debacle of the Asia Cup is a distant memory; it will bother but won’t be a major torment.
To be honest, a comprehensive series win against the Afghans was needed because Bangladesh had to settle an old (festering) score.
Right, enough of cricket!
At this moment, all eyes are on the Bangladesh national football team, which will be taking on Hong Kong on October 9 in what is being termed a crucial Asia Cup qualifying match.
Bluntly speaking, qualifying for the second round is not the main aim, getting a positive result on home soil is.
Bangladesh played their last Asia Cup qualifying match on home on June 10, losing to Singapore, 2-1 -- a result which severely dented the hopes of the fans because on that day, most other teams playing on home soil won.
Sri Lanka, playing on home ground, won against much higher ranked Chinese Taipei, displaying a solid and confident brand of football while Myanmar, Brunei also came out from their home games with smiles.
The point: The home advantage is such that unless an opponent is among the top tier teams, a loss is a rarity.
Unfortunately, Bangladesh was the side which came out with a long face and frayed tempers in the match against Singapore.
Lessons from the Singapore clash
In the Singapore game, played last June, we looked shaky! The defense seemed in disarray and Singapore took the chances.
Any team can have a stuttering start, conceding early goals, but resilience lies in coming back from behind to secure, at least, a draw.
The exhilaration of a comeback, even if the final result is a draw, is often no less than a win!
Bangladesh came close to getting a penalty that would have assured a draw but the referee was not convinced. Was it unfair?
Well, those who watched the game felt a penalty should have been awarded to Bangladesh.
Anyway, no use crying over spilled milk.
The focus at this moment is Hong Kong, ranked 38 places higher than Bangladesh, and a team which features a host of South American players currently holding Hong Kong citizenship.
On our side, we have the Bangladeshi-British talisman, Hamza Choudhury, Canadian-Bengali Shamit Shome, and Italian-based pocket dynamite, Fahamedul Islam.
This will turn out to be quite a match because all of Bangladesh will be looking at Hamza for inspiration.
Landing in Dhaka, Hamza expressed his optimism about the match on Thursday but also reminded that football is a team effort and a victory can only be assured when eleven players work as one cohesive unit.
Reportedly, Hamza, while trying to add more impetus to his point about team-work, said that even Lionel Messi playing for Bangladesh would not be able to do much if the team did not work as one united entity. Very true!
However, there’s also something called “charismatic presence,” which works as an inspiration.
Messi alone did not win the World Cup in 2022 but his presence, belief, and conviction fired up other team members.
Hamza alone cannot do anything but can galvanize the team to go for an all-out performance.
By the way, Bangladesh, playing on home soil, has won against higher ranked sides in the past. Let’s go back to 1985 when we were playing against Thailand and Indonesia in the 1986 World Cup qualifiers.
Bangladesh lost both the away matches, 0-3 to Thailand and 0-2 to Indonesia, but on home ground, won against both sides -- 1-0 against the Thais and 2-1 against Indonesia.
At that time, these victories not only added momentum to the national side but also proved that on home soil, beating Bangladesh was a challenge.
For the Hong Kong match, Bangladesh needs to concentrate on defense first and create an impregnable wall because the Brazil born players of Hong Kong will move around the D-box like hunters.
To go back in time, in the 1975 Merdeka tournament in Malaysia, Bangladesh playing against Hong Kong lost 9-1.
The lone goal was scored by Kazi Salahuddin, who, later, went on to become the first Bangladeshi to play overseas, as he signed for Hong Kong top tier club side, Caroline Hill FC.
In 2007, during the Asian Cup qualifiers, Bangladesh lost to Hong Kong both at home and away by 0-1 and 0-2 respectively.
Strategic approach is best
Bangladesh played a much higher ranked Kuwait in the SAFF Football semi-finals in 2023, losing by a solitary goal, scored in the added half hour period.
Therefore, a strategic approach can bring a result against Hong Kong. A counter attack strategy would be best, solidifying defense. Usage of long throws, deceptive corner tactics may be applied.
In the end, however, it again comes down to Hamza. Actually, by centering our dreams and hopes around Hamza, we often create pressure on him. From his body language and rhetoric, it’s clear Hamza wants to win but he wants to win it as part of a team.
Everything said and done, the goal is scored by one person, the “fox in the box” with the killer instinct at the right moment.
For that, Hamza has to overlap and go to the front and be the decoy because Hong Kong will have him marked.
While all effort will be to stop Hamza, Rakib, Morsalin, Saad, can try to look for chances.
Bangladesh will be facing Hong Kong again on October 14 for the away match, which means the team must show spark on home soil.
The tickets are sold, the fans are waiting, and I am sure Hamza wants to come out of the match with a positive result in a Bangladesh shirt.
What is my expectation? Well, a win will be stupendous but a draw won’t be bad either!
Towheed Feroze is a former journalist.
