Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera is highlighting the importance of teamwork over individual talent as they face Hong Kong in their third Group C match of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers at the National Stadium in Dhaka today.
The match is scheduled to begin at 8:00pm and T-sports will televise the match live.聽
Bangladesh (184th), who are 38 places behind Hong Kong (146th) in the current FIFA rankings, will be searching for their first win of the campaign, as they are now in third place of the four-team group with one point after a goalless draw against India and a 2-1 defeat to Singapore at home.聽
Hong Kong, on the other hand, are placed second in the group with four points from a goalless draw against Singapore and a 1-0 win in their previous matches.
The hosts are optimistic about securing their first win in front of a crowd of over 19,000, as all six of their naturalised players 鈥� Jamal Bhuyan, Tariq Kazi, Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome, Fahamedul Islam, and Zayyan Ahmed 鈥� will be available for the match for the first time.
鈥楬amza, Shamit give us the quality. We are happy with them but, we cannot give much importance to naturalised players because it is a team game. And out main priority would be to not make any mistakes tomorrow [Thursday],鈥� said Carbera in the pre-match press conference.
鈥榃e have had 10 days of training, and we know what we are capable of doing. Winning tomorrow鈥檚 crucial game will be very helpful for us to keep going.鈥�
Meanwhile, Hong Kong鈥檚 English coach Ashley Westwood was not looking to their previous collection or difference in the rankings. He even was not considering the game as a do-or-die clash for them.
鈥榃e have prepared as much as we could鈥e鈥檙e confident of our team, our shape, our spirit. We understand that Bangladesh are a good side... It鈥檚 going to be tough,鈥� said the Hong Kong coach.
鈥榃e鈥檙e confident in our ability to put on a good performance. You can never guarantee a result. But we鈥檒l be doing everything we can to make sure we鈥檙e doing as much as possible to put us in good stead for the home tie as well,鈥� he continued.
鈥楴o, I don鈥檛 think so. I think both teams are on the rise. Bangladesh are a different team from what they were 18 months ago. They鈥檝e got a bit of stability now,鈥� he replied to a query about the ranking difference.
When Westwood was asked what he would have done if Bangladesh鈥檚 Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury had been in the Hong Kong team, he replied, 鈥�(Hamza) would probably be on the bench,鈥� Westwood joked.
