There were dramatic moments whenever the neighbours clashed be it Adil Khan’s 88th-minute header that erupted the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in 2019, or Sunil Chhetri’s 95th-minute free-kick in the 2013 SAFF Championship.
The last senior-level meeting in the 2021 SAFF Championship ended in a 1-1 draw, with Sunil Chhetri finding the net. The India captain has netted six of India’s last seven goals against Bangladesh, who are statistically one of his favourite international opponents. He also scored the penalty in the 1-0 win in the 2023 Asian Games, where he was included as one of the over-aged players in the U23 squad.
Bangladesh’s last win over India was when they won 2-1 in extra time at the 2003 SAFF Championship semi-final in Dhaka. On Indian soil, the Blue Tigers have never lost to the Bengal Tigers.
Defender Sandesh Jhingan kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win against Bangladesh in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2021 and also played alongside Chhetri as one of the over-aged players at the 2023 Asian Games. He said, “Whenever we face Bangladesh, we always know that it’s going to be a game with a lot of passion and high intensity. Of course, they are our neighbours, so you can expect that, not just in football, but in every sport.
“The last time we faced them was at the Asian Games in China. It was a tough game, we eked out a 1-0 win. Before too, in the World Cup Qualifiers, it was a narrow victory. But we’ve gotten the better of them almost every time.”
As far as the FIFA Rankings are concerned, Bangladesh are ranked 185th, 59 places below India, who are at 126th. But Jhingan stated that they cannot be taken lightly despite the on-paper difference.
“I expect them to be at their best and you cannot take any game easily, especially when you come into the Qualifiers and the weight of those three points is a lot,” said Jhingan. “Whoever the opponents are, we have to play at our full potential and we’ll get the job done.”
While India are aiming to qualify for the Asian Cup for the third successive time, Bangladesh have only qualified once before – in 1980. There’s room for just one this time as the group winners will make it to the final tournament in Saudi Arabia in two years’ time. Singapore and Hong Kong, who also meet on Tuesday, are the other two teams in Group C
In the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2, Bangladesh finished Group I winless and in last place with a solitary point from a draw at home against Lebanon, while suffering heavy defeats against Australia and Palestine. In September 2024, they got a win and a loss against Bhutan in two friendlies. In November, they lost 0-1 and won 2-1 in two friendlies against Maldives, the same opponents India beat 3-0 last Wednesday.
Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera, also a Spaniard like Manolo Márquez, has been in-charge of the Bengal Tigers since 2022. The 40-year-old has prior Indian connection, having served as the assistant coach of Sporting Clube de Goa between 2013 and 2015. Captain and midfielder Jamal Bhuyan, who has the highest caps in Bangladesh history at 87, has also been involved in Indian football, playing for Mohammedan Sporting in 2020-21.
The highlight of the Bangladesh squad is 27-year-old midfielder Hamza Choudhury, a former England youth international who recently received his Bangladeshi passport and switched allegiance to the country of his mother’s birth.
Other key players in Cabrera’s squad include experienced midfielder Sohel Rana, defender Topu Barman, who is the highest international scorer in the squad with six goals, young midfielders Shekh Morsalin and Mojibur Rahman Jony, and forward Rakib Hossain. Five-time Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings predominate the national squad, with as many as 11 players hailing from the club.
