Jamal overly optimistic about 2024

Following a seemingly never-ending slump, Bangladesh eventually turned the tide in the middle of last year during the SAFF Championship before retaining momentum for the rest of 2023.

This year, steeper hurdles await the men in red and green, with several FIFA World Cup Qualifiers fixtures lined up. Captain Jamal Bhuiyan believes if Bangladesh can raise their pro-activeness in the field and keep tempo intact throughout the match, they can climb up the FIFA rankings from a lowly 184.

"If we can establish a bit of dominance in the match, especially in the second half, then we can get more positive results," said Jamal while speaking to The Daily Star over phone on Wednesday from Denmark, where the poster boy of Bangladesh football is enjoying his vacation after playing for Sol de Mayo, a third division football club in Argentina.

The Denmark-born midfielder stated that his teammates' greatest achievement last year was their "self-belief". Capitalising on it, Jamal reckons Bangladesh can make their presence felt in the qualifiers.

"I can assume that Australia will win all of their group matches. Then, we have three matches left against Palestine and Lebanon, including a match at home where we are really strong. If we can secure seven points in three matches, then it is possible to advance to the top 18-team third round," explained the 33-year-old midfielder.

Jamal admitted that their mentality has transformed significantly after fighting neck and neck with superior Lebanon and Kuwait during the SAFF Championship. However, they were disappointed to come away with a draw over Lebanon at home last November.

"During the SAFF Championship, our mentality was to secure a point against Lebanon by deploying a low-block but our mentality was different against the same opponents during the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. There, we did not find much of a gap between the two teams, taking into account the on-field performances."

The Bangladesh captain further revealed how they acquired confidence and continued to give a consistent performance under Spanish coach Javier Cabrera.

"We have not produced good results before despite having performed better. But things started changing with the introduction of a new system, involving a false nine; though we were not used to such a formation even at the club level," he said.

"This system really suited us as our opponents hardly understood which system we adopted."

Jamal also believes that the much-awaited return of experienced defender Tapu Barman and goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico, who just began playing in the domestic league following the withdrawal of club suspension, will boost Bangladesh's squad depth.

"If you see the Bangladesh squad, it is a comparatively very young side with the players having one to three years' international experience except Sohel Rana Sr. and me," said Jamal, hoping that one or two new players will emerge from Bangladesh Premier League to strengthen the squad further.

Last month, Jamal was invited by LaLiga officials to visit Spain and observe the match between Atletico Madrid and Getafe CF.

"It was a good experience to visit the LaLiga office, TwentyNine's restaurant and the LEGENDS Collection. It was also a good feeling to see the facilities of Atletico Madrid," informed Jamal, adding that he will return to Argentina after enjoying a one-month winter vacation in Denmark.