Hamzat Chaudhury (27, Sheffield United), Bangladesh's first Premier Leaguer, joined the national team to play in the third Asian Cup qualifying round.메이저사이트

Jamal Bouyan (34), who is currently the captain of the national team and is considered a legend of Bangladeshi soccer after playing in 87 A matches, smiled, saying, "It's like Lionel Messi is here."

Bangladesh will play the first Group C match against India in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Saudi Arabia Asian Cup at Jawaharlalnerus Stadium in Shilong, India on the 25th (Korea Standard Time).

In the third qualifying round of the Asian Cup, where 24 countries participate, a total of six countries, the top teams in six groups, will win tickets to the finals.

Bangladesh was tied with India, Hong Kong and Singapore in Group C. It is the lowest ranking in the FIFA rankings. India ranked the highest at 126th, followed by Hong Kong (155th) and Singapore (160th). Bangladesh is lagging behind in objective power at 185th.

A "variable" has emerged to make up for the inferiority. This is because defensive midfielder Chaudhury, who left for Sheffield United in January after playing for Leicester City in the English Premier League, joined the Bangladesh national team.

He is a box-to-box midfielder of a hard worker's temperament who enjoys strong activity and tough defense. Not only the three lines, but also the left and right fullbacks and center backs stand out for their versatility.

According to the British 'Daily Star' on the 20th, Chaudhury attended a pre-press conference ahead of the match against India with national team captain Booyan.

"It feels like Messi is here," Bouyan said, unable to hide his joy over the power-enhancing effect of joining the first Premier Leaguer in his country's football history.

"Cowdhury is a Premier Leaguer. It will be a great help to the national team," said Bhuyan, who has been playing for Bangladesh for more than a decade since his A-match debut in 2013. "I'm five times more excited than when I first came here."

Chowdhury was born and raised in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, but his parents are not British.

My father is from Grenada, a small island country in Central America, and my mother is from Bangladesh.

My mother frequently visited Bangladesh from an early age and naturally grew up as a Muslim. About 90% of Bangladesh's 170 million population is Muslim.

Thanks to this, Chaudhury, a local boy in Leicestershire and an English national, was culturally and religiously less distant from Bangladesh.

My dream was to join the England adult national team. It wasn't that he didn't have a chance. After being selected to the U-21 national team in 2018, he played seven matches while wearing the three-way uniform.

Then, in December last year, he acquired Bangladesh citizenship and drew attention.

"Bangladesh is a great country. If you work hard and respect the process, you can achieve anything. There is no need to hurry. I will play for Bangladesh for many years," Chaudhury said in a press conference. "I will do my best to advance to the Asian Cup finals for my new country."