Hamza and Jamal were unable to guide Bangladesh into the main stage of the Asia Cup, as they were eliminated two matches early. Despite this setback, Bangladesh U-17 skipper Nazmul Huda Faisal remains optimistic about reaching the main event in Asia.
The AFC U-17 Championship final round will be hosted by Saudi Arabia next year, featuring 16 teams. In 2025, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Tajikistan, the UAE, and Indonesia will automatically qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The remaining 38 teams in the qualifiers have been divided into seven groups, with only the group winners advancing to the main tournament.
Bangladesh has been placed in Group A, alongside hosts China, Bahrain, Brunei, Timor-Leste, and Sri Lanka. Bahrain and China are expected to be the toughest opponents. Still, head coach Golam Rabbani Choton expressed strong optimism, stating,
“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆.”
Faisal echoed his coach’s confidence:
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂, 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆.”
Preparations, Weather Concerns & Expatriate Player Issues
Faisal, the long-serving age-level captain of Bangladesh, once again faced questions about his age during the press conference. Coach Choton defended him firmly, saying,
“Faisal is in the squad because of his age and performance.”
The qualifiers will take place in Chongqing, China, where the temperature is much colder than in Bangladesh. To adapt to the conditions, the team decided to leave earlier than the AFC mandates require. Team Manager Shamid Kasem confirmed,
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 18 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 15 𝒅𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔.”
There was also discussion about the lack of expatriate players in the junior squad. While the senior national team now includes several foreign-born talents, the U-17s have fewer options. Coach Choton explained,
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒘𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎.”
Bangladesh U-17 Match Schedule
November 22 – Timor Leste
November 24 – Brunei Darussalam
November 26 – Sri Lanka
November 28 – Bahrain
November 30 – China
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