Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers: Sunil Chhetri, Hamza Choudhury in focus as India hosts Bangladesh

Tribalism in football is rare in India. The last time it was seen at an international level in this country, former men’s head coach Igor Stimac was at the receiving end of it.

Abuses were hurled and shouts of ‘Stimac Out!’ rang loud around the stadium as lower-ranked Afghanistan pilloried the Blue Tigers in March last year in Guwahati.

Not so far from there, new coach Manolo Marquez has rendered fresh hope through a commanding 3-0 win over Maldives in Shillong on March 19 — India’s first win in 489 days.

He will look to tread on the same path when India faces Bangladesh in the opening match of the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Tuesday.

Unsurprisingly, most of the spotlight on this side of the Radcliffe line will be on Sunil Chhetri, India’s record goalscorer. At 40, he resuscitated in national team colours, scoring against the Maldives on his return.

The Bengaluru FC forward has dazzled in the Indian Super League (ISL) this season, scoring 12 goals and assisting two more – his best-ever in the league – and Bangladesh remains one of his favourite opponents to score against.

With six goals in as many games, he has a better record against only two more opponents, Nepal and Maldives.

All eyes on Hamza

On the other side, all eyes are set on Hamza Choudhury, the British-Bangladeshi midfielder, set to play his first-ever match for Bangladesh.

Hamza, an FA Cup winner with Leicester City and an EFL Championship winner with Watford, switched his allegiance to the Bengal Tigers in December last year. And over 40 media houses from Bangladesh have rallied behind him to cover the game here.

On loan at Sheffield United, Hamza has improved his progressive passing (192.9 yards covered compared to 166 yards last season) per 90 minutes and has won more tackles (1.62 compared to 0.67 in the 2023-24 season), making him the perfect No. 8 for the Bengal Tigers.

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His club, remains level on points with leader Leeds United (80 points from 38 games) in the Championship.

Hamza will look to link up with fellow European-Bangladeshi recruits Jamal Bhuyan (born and grew up in Denmark) and Tariq Kazi (born and grew up in Finland) to pull off an upset on Tuesday.

Not a cakewalk

Though the visitor is ranked 59 spots below India, the game is expected to remain quite even.

Marquez is yet to test the waters in a competitive fixture for India and has a host of first-team regulars – Lallianzuala Chhangte, Asish Rai, Manvir Singh and Brandon Fernandes – ruled out with injuries.

The woes have opened the door of opportunity for winger Udanta Singh, who returned to the team after 15 months and midfielder Macarton Louis Nickson, who earned his maiden call-up.

Udanta, with six-goal contributions (3G, 3A) in FC Goa’s run to the ISL Cup semifinals, is expected to take the spot along the right flank while Nickson could be an impact substitute.

Indian winger Udanta Singh during a training session.
| Photo Credit:
AIFF Media

Marquez, who looked to have concealed a few of his cards in the friendly against Maldives, is expected to go with a 4-2-3-1 shape, Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia) and Sandesh Jhingan back in the starting 11.

However, the lack of a No. 10, as effective as Brandon, could see him toying with a 4-4-2 shape, with Ashique Kuruniyan employed along the left while Liston Colaco joins Chhetri up front.

David vs Goliath?

The two sides have played 28 matches so far, with India winning 14 of them and remains unbeaten at home. Bangladesh has won just four games, with the last one coming 22 years ago, a 2-1 win in the SAFF Championship semifinal.

Bangladesh is the lowest-ranked side in the group and the contest does radiate a David versus Goliath feel on paper.

But having previously worked in India, its head coach Javier Cabrera would look to take a leaf out of Ashley Westwood’s book of Afghanistan to devour the optimism of Blue Tigers in their own den.

Meanwhile, Marquez’s army will hope to ride on newly-found optimism to top its group – which has Singapore, Hong Kong (China) and Bangladesh – to qualify for the Asian Cup 2027.

Match starts at 7:00 PM IST.