Jamal hopes for three or four points at ASEAN Cup, dreams of Bangladesh reaching World Cup

Ahead of Bangladesh's opening match in the FIFA ASEAN Cup against Malaysia, captain Jamal Bhuyan has spoken candidly about both his side's realistic ambitions for the tournament and a far bigger dream he continues to hold onto, that of one day seeing Bangladesh compete at a World Cup.

Bangladesh enter the competition as the lowest ranked side in Group A, sitting 181st in the FIFA rankings, well below Indonesia at 118th, Malaysia at 136th and Singapore at 148th heading into the tournament.

Speaking to FIFA, Jamal set out a clear target for the group stage, acknowledging the gap in quality while insisting his side still had genuine expectations of their own heading into the competition.

"We know we are the lowest ranked team in the group, with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and then us, but we have our own expectations and also those of our country. We are targeting to get three or four points," he said.

For a player approaching his 100th international cap, reaching this stage of his career has been anything but straightforward, having survived being shot four times as a teenager growing up in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Jamal recalled the incident vividly, describing how an ordinary afternoon near his school turned into a life threatening ordeal that left him in a coma for several days before a lengthy hospital recovery followed.

"I was born and raised in Copenhagen and it was there one afternoon that I was shot. I was near school, with my backpack on and a guy came running over and told us to leave the area," he said.

"Then one or two moments later the bullets came and I was shot four times. I spent three days in a coma and then several more months in the hospital to recover," he added, reflecting on the severity of what followed.

Even upon waking, Jamal remained unaware of just how serious his condition had been, initially more concerned with informing his coach that he would miss an upcoming match than grasping the reality of his situation.

"I told the nurse that I needed to call my coach and tell him that I won't be able to make the game tomorrow. She asked me what day I thought it was and I told her it's Friday," he said.

"Then she said no, it's Monday, and she gave me a newspaper and showed me what had happened," Jamal recalled, describing the moment the true scale of the incident finally became clear to him.

Having overcome that ordeal, Jamal went on to build a career spanning clubs in Denmark, Bangladesh, India and Argentina, before becoming a central figure for the national team over the years that followed.

Despite his advancing years, he remains determined to continue representing Bangladesh for as long as his body allows, drawing on the regrets shared by former teammates who wished they had savoured their careers more fully.

"Everything has an end, but at the moment I still feel my body is in good shape and I have such a soft spot for the national team and for Bangladesh in general," he said.

"I've spoken with a lot of players who have retired and they always say they wished they could have cherished those moments more at the time," he added.

Jamal also reflected on what it means to represent a nation of nearly 180 million people, describing selection in a 23 man squad as a responsibility he refuses to take lightly at any stage of his career.

"There's almost 180 million people and you're one of the selected ones in a 23 man squad. That's not something I take lightly, and every time I'm with the national team, it's special," he said.

Beyond the immediate tournament, Jamal harbours a far grander ambition, one shaped by his own experiences attending this year's World Cup in the United States as a passionate football supporter rather than a player.

He travelled across America for three weeks, taking in matches in cities including New York, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Seattle during the tournament's group and knockout stages.

Now, Jamal wants to experience that same atmosphere as a Bangladesh player rather than simply as a spectator cheering on Brazil or Argentina, describing the scale of football fever that grips his country during the tournament.

"You can't imagine how crazy things are in Bangladesh during the World Cup. Every building in the capital has a flag, either Brazil or Argentina or maybe England, but whenever Brazil or Argentina play, there's 20,000 to 30,000 people watching on big screens," he said.

"Just imagine if we could actually play in a World Cup, that would be a whole different level of crazy," he concluded.

Bangladesh open their campaign against Malaysia on Thursday, before facing Singapore on September 28 and hosts Indonesia on October 1, with the top side from each group advancing directly to the final.