On Thursday, all lenses naturally were fixated on Bangladesh star midfielder Hamza Chowdhury, who delivered the shots of a lifetime for any Bangladesh fan -- a spectacular bicycle kick followed by a coolly taken Panenka penalty -- in Bangladesh’s 2-2 draw against Nepal in a FIFA friendly at the National Stadium. As the men in red and green gear up for their high-voltage AFC Asian Cup qualifier against India on November 18 at the very same ground, a buoyant Hamza -- known for scanning the field and sniffing out danger -- was spotted scanning through a different lens altogether, playfully turning into a shutterbug during training. With fans swept up in full-fledged Hamzamania, the Leicester City midfielder, ever cheerful in his jolly demeanour, greeted supporters with smiles, posed for selfies, and even signed a hand-drawn sketch of himself offered by a young fan. Hamza has four goals to his name in five matches for Bangladesh and expectedly, the onus will be on him to spur his team on against India. Photos: Firoz Ahmed  

Left-winger Fahemedul Islam has been left out of Bangladesh’s 27-member preliminary squad for their upcoming FIFA friendly against Nepal on November 13, followed by the high-voltage AFC Asian Cup qualifier against India on November 18 at home.

Bangladesh held Hong Kong, China to a 1-1 draw in their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers third-round fixture at Kai Tak Sports Park in Kowloon on Tuesday, thanks to an equaliser from Rakib Hossain that kept their faint qualification hopes alive.

Rakib Hossain scored an 84th-minute equaliser as Bangladesh drew 1-1 against Hong Kong in their fourth match of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday.