‘Anything is possible in football’, Jamal Bhuiyan sends confident message ahead of Indonesia clash

Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuiyan believes his side can produce a strong performance against Indonesia despite the wide gap between the two teams in FIFA rankings and head-to-head records.

Bangladesh will face Indonesia in the FIFA ASEAN Cup qualifiers on Thursday (October 1) at 6:30pm Bangladesh time. With Bangladesh having already suffered consecutive defeats to Malaysia and Singapore, the match against Indonesia has little significance in terms of qualification.

Bangladesh and Indonesia have met six times so far, with Indonesia winning four matches, Bangladesh winning one and the other ending in a draw. There is also a significant difference in the FIFA rankings, with Indonesia currently 118th and Bangladesh 181st.

Jamal, however, said the team was not focusing on statistics or rankings. He believes anything can happen in football and wants Bangladesh to finish the campaign with a performance that will make supporters happy.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Jamal said Indonesia were likely to play an aggressive game but Bangladesh had their own plans.

“Indonesia will play dominant football on the field. But we also have some plans. The coach will discuss these matters with me. We will talk in detail about how we will play tomorrow.”

Bangladesh wary of Indonesia’s set pieces

Bangladesh have also studied Indonesia’s strengths, with Jamal specifically highlighting their set pieces and two strikers as areas requiring extra attention.

“We have watched their set pieces. Their two strikers are also very good players. We discuss these things most of the time within the team, where their strengths are and where their weaknesses are. We will have to be extra cautious tomorrow.”

Jamal said Bangladesh were determined to give their best in the final match and provide supporters with a performance to remember.

“Anything is possible in football. We want to give our fans a great performance. I think that is what our supporters also want to see.”

Speaking about Bangladesh’s preparation, Jamal said the team would focus primarily on correcting its own shortcomings and improving in the areas where progress is needed.

“India drew with Panama, which is certainly a good result for them. Pakistan have also bounced back. But our main focus will be on correcting our shortcomings and focusing on the areas where we need to improve.”