Shamit hopes for team culture, not individual brilliance

After much promise eventually gave way to disappointment, Bangladesh will conclude their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers campaign on 31 March away to Singapore.

Already out of the running for the finals of Asia’s most prestigious competition, the Bengal Tigers have nothing but pride to play for against Singapore in their last match of the qualification round.

With five points from as many games, the best the men in red and green can hope to achieve from their Singapore clash is a win, and second place in the group, provided the other result go their way.

Following the 31 March encounter, Javier Cabrera’s charges will turn their attention to future tournaments and Canadian-born Bangladeshi midfielder Shamit Shome said it is important the national side develop a team culture, and not just depend on individual brilliance from the likes of himself and Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury.

“There may be a time when Hamza or I won’t be able to play; what if I get hurt? So it’s always about ‘next man up’—who can contribute,” the 28-year old told the media in Singapore. “I think that’s the important thing, you know, football is more than just the 11 players; it’s a whole team, a 23-man, 30-man squad. And so, the way Bangladesh will rise further is if the whole team can improve.”

“I have no doubt that the players who are here will do well. And we will be able to win this match. And the main thing is we have to prepare well, stay ready. And you know, all those Bangladeshi people coming will give even more motivation to win,” he added.

Bangladesh will head into the Singapore tie on the back of a 3-0 loss to Vietnam in a friendly and Shamit said the team were eager not to repeat the mistakes they had committed in the defeat where they shipped all three goals in the first half.

“Everyone’s mood was a bit down because of how the previous match went. Now, the next focus is this game. And now the spirits are rising again. Seeing all the supporters, our mood has lifted a bit more, thinking that hopefully, we can deliver a good performance,” Shamit noted.

“If we look at that Vietnam match in hindsight, it wasn't that bad. Three-nothing was a bit harsh. Just minor mistakes—I mean—basic things that we can do better. But you know, that’s football. So we have to learn from that. And I think the lessons we learned with Vietnam, we can apply those in Singapore. And because of that, hopefully, we can get a good result,” he concluded.