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Faisal Aims for Breakthrough Performance at Asia Cup China

E28 Staff1
Faisal

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,

β€œπ‘Άπ’–π’“ π’•π’†π’‚π’Ž π’Šπ’” π’˜π’†π’π’ 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 π’‚π’Šπ’Ž 𝒕𝒐 π’‡π’Šπ’π’Šπ’”π’‰ 𝒂𝒔 π’ˆπ’“π’π’–π’‘ π’„π’‰π’‚π’Žπ’‘π’Šπ’π’π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’’π’–π’‚π’π’Šπ’‡π’š 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’‚π’Šπ’ π’”π’•π’‚π’ˆπ’†.”

Faisal echoed his coach’s confidence:

β€œπ‘Ύπ’† π’˜π’‚π’π’• 𝒕𝒐 π’‘π’π’‚π’š 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 π’Šπ’ π‘ͺπ’‰π’Šπ’π’‚, 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ˆπ’“π’π’–π’‘, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’‚π’Šπ’ 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’‡π’–π’π’π’š 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’„π’‰π’‚π’π’π’†π’π’ˆπ’†.”

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,
β€œFaisal 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,

β€œπ‘Ύπ’† 𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’…π’†π’‘π’‚π’“π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒐𝒏 π‘΅π’π’—π’†π’Žπ’ƒπ’†π’“ 18 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 π’•π’†π’Žπ’‘π’†π’“π’‚π’•π’–π’“π’† 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 π’Šπ’” 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 15 π’…π’†π’ˆπ’“π’†π’†π’”.”

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,

β€œπ‘Ύπ’† π’˜π’‚π’π’•π’†π’… π‘»π’‚π’”π’Šπ’, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 π’‹π’π’Šπ’ 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 π’˜π’‚π’” 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π‘Ίπ’˜π’†π’…π’†π’ π’•π’†π’‚π’Ž.”

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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