Within just a year, Hamza Choudhury has become the heartbeat of the Bangladesh football team. Along with scoring goals, he has also been providing assists. Not only at Dhaka’s National Stadium, but even when Bangladesh plays at venues abroad, the stands often echo with chants of ‘Hamza, Hamza.’ After completing his second training session in Jashore today, England-based footballer Adam Abbas spoke to the media. The footballer said, ‘Hamza. Yes, Hamza is my favourite player. He is a very good footballer.’
Adam Abbas is now eagerly looking forward to playing in the Bangladesh jersey. Speaking in Jashore today, the England-based footballer said, I appreciate all this love. I know you get a lot of love from the Bangladeshi fans. They are truly a fantastic group of supporters. I’m really looking forward to coming here and playing football. That’s what I love to do. I love playing football. That’s the main thing. Playing for Bangladesh and being selected for Bangladesh is a huge honour for me. Of course, this is my mother’s country. The whole family is very proud.’
Abbas is trying to adapt to the team during training. He said, ‘Today was my first session, and it went really well. Everything was organised very well for the training. Gerard conducted some excellent drills. The other coaches also helped, and there was a great atmosphere among the players. Gerard has a saying: run more than the opposition, work harder, play better, score more goals, and defend better. Our goal is to try to maintain superiority over our opponents in every situation. We may not win every match, but the main thing is that we are all united and stand by one another.’
Bangladesh will compete in the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Uzbekistan from August 31 to September 5. In Group B, Bangladesh’s opponents are hosts Uzbekistan, Syria, and India. With success in mind, Abbas said, ‘My goal is to play for Bangladesh on the biggest stages possible and achieve the greatest success as a team. Insha’Allah, we will achieve a lot of success in the coming years. A lot of talented young players are emerging from both the national team and the age-group teams. If we stay united, continue to work hard, and support one another, we can overcome any minor setbacks and keep moving forward. With the right mentality and support, we can go a long way.’