Sheffield United midfielder Hamza Choudhury explains why he is relishing latest Bangladesh fixture
Sheffield United ace Hamza Choudhury has featured twice for Bangladesh at the FIFA ASEAN Cup during this international window.
Sheffield United utility player Hamza Choudhury is relishing Bangladesh’s FIFA ASEAN Cup clash with hosts Indonesia on Thursday, admitting it will be a “valuable experience” for him and his teammates.
Bangladesh were eliminated from the tournament after just their second game on Monday after being beaten 1-0 by Singapore. That marked their second defeat in as many games, following a 3-0 loss to Malaysia in their tournament opener last week.
This is the inaugural edition of the FIFA ASEAN Cup, an international football competition sanctioned by FIFA for men’s national teams from Southeast Asia and guest teams. Bangladesh were placed in Division 1’s Group A alongside Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Having lost their opening two games, Bangladesh can no longer qualify for either the final or the bronze final. The winners of Group A and Group B will meet in the final, while the runners-up will meet in the bronze final.
Indonesia have taken four points from their opening two matches, meaning they are currently second in Group A, behind leaders Malaysia on goal difference. With top spot in their sights, they will be determined to get the job done against Bangladesh and hope the outcome of the clash between Malaysia and Singapore goes their way.
Although the tournament hosts will be favourites heading into the contest, Choudhury, who rejoined United from Leicester City last month, is looking forward to the game with a sense of excitement.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Choudhury told FIFA. “I know there’ll be a much bigger crowd, so it’ll be another valuable experience for us as a team.
“Indonesia are a very good team; they have a lot of players playing in Europe’s top leagues. So it’ll be another difficult test for us, but that’s the main reason we’re here: to compete against teams that are currently above us.”
Regardless of the outcome against Indonesia, Bangladesh know their tournament will come to an end after the game. Nevertheless, Choudhury has enjoyed the opportunity to spend time in the country.
He continued: “I really like it. I really do! It’s my first time visiting Indonesia.
“A lot of my friends and some of my family have been here before, and they had nothing but good things to say. So to come here myself has been really nice.
“The people are very friendly. The weather is a little hot for me, but overall I’ve really enjoyed it. Hopefully I can come back another time and maybe visit other parts of Indonesia.”