We are not here to fear anyone: Hamza Chowdhury

Bangladesh are in Jakarta for their first-ever FIFA Asian Cup appearance, with midfielder Hamza Chowdhury joining the squad on Monday after arriving from English Championship club Sheffield United. His arrival has brought renewed energy and confidence to the team.

On Wednesday, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) released a video message from Hamza to the media, in which he spoke about his excitement ahead of the tournament, hosts Indonesia and their 23-year-old British-Indonesian centre-back Elkan Baggott.

Speaking ahead of his first appearance for Bangladesh in the tournament, Hamza said, “We are very excited and honoured to be here for this tournament. It is obviously a great opportunity for us because we get to play against teams ranked higher than us. Our aim is to pick up as many points as possible.”

Hamza said Bangladesh wanted to play with confidence and without fear.

“We are not here to fear anyone. We know what we are capable of. But, Insha Allah, this will also be a learning process for us. We are here to gain as much experience as possible. Hopefully, we can make our country proud,” he said.

The tournament begins on Thursday. In Division 2, Brunei will face Laos on the opening day, while Myanmar will take on Timor-Leste. Bangladesh will begin their Division 1 campaign against Malaysia on Friday.

“We’ll see how our performance goes,” Hamza said.

Speaking about Malaysia, Bangladesh’s first opponents, Hamza said, “They are obviously in a very good position in the rankings. They have some very good players and a very good head coach. Especially with the next World Cup qualifiers, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are right up there.”

Indonesia defender Elkan Baggott plays for English Championship club Millwall. Hamza said he had spotted Baggott on the flight and described him as a promising young player.

“I think he’s obviously a very good player and still quite young. Millwall are a very good team, so I’m looking forward to playing against him in this tournament and, of course, in the league as well,” he said.

Bangladesh are yet to visit the tournament’s main venue, Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Hamza said the team was looking forward to seeing it.

“We haven’t seen the stadium yet. Insha Allah, we’ll see it tomorrow. But yes, everything has been very good. We have nothing to complain about. The hotel is amazing, everyone is very friendly, and we’re really enjoying it,” he said.

Bangladesh will face hosts Indonesia in their second match on September 28, setting up another potential Championship rivalry in Jakarta between Hamza and Baggott.