After a Goal and Assist in His First Match as Captain, Hamza's Message: 'Still a Long Way to Go'

In his first match as captain, Hamza Choudhury scored a goal and also set up a team-mate's goal. Under his leadership, Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 4-0 to become group champions in the SAFF Championship and secure a place in the semi-finals.

Before taking the field against Sri Lanka, Hamza had called Bangladesh the SAFF favourites. At the National Stadium, Bangladesh dominated against the Lankans from the start, and in the end secured the last four as group champions with a 4-0 win.

Yet even after such a commanding win, captain Hamza is not complacent. Expressing his feelings on social media after the match, he gave the message that a harder road still lies ahead.

Posting several photos of himself, Hamza wrote that he was extremely proud to lead his country for the first time. The team's performance was great, he wrote, but there is still a long way to go.

Hamza's performance in the match was eye-catching. He contributed to team-mate Shamit Shome's goal: receiving Hamza's pass, Shamit found the net at the second attempt. The Bangladesh captain then scored himself late in the first half.

One of the match's most talked-about moments was created by young footballer Farhan Ali Wahid. Receiving a pass from Shamit Shome, the winger beat four Lankan defenders one by one outside the box and scored. Hamza also congratulated his team-mate on social media, writing Farhan Ali Wahid's name with congratulations and a love emoji.

Hamza has now scored five goals in a Bangladesh shirt. This time, with a goal and an assist in his first match as captain, the 29-year-old defensive midfielder gave another proof of his ability.

Team-mate Jamal Bhuyan was pleased with Hamza's performance. In his view, Hamza is one of Bangladesh's best footballers. Jamal said Hamza deserved it, played well, is probably Bangladesh's best player, is certainly a superstar and the team's best player, and that he was really very happy watching Hamza play.

Not only the national team, Hamza's English club Sheffield United was also delighted with such a performance. After the win over Sri Lanka, the club published a photo of Hamza celebrating and wrote that Hamza Choudhury had scored and, as captain, had given Bangladesh a huge 4-0 win over Sri Lanka. The club also added a Bangladesh flag emoji to the post.

Meanwhile, Bhutan have also reached the semi-finals from Group B alongside Bangladesh. Despite Sri Lanka's defeat, the two teams were level on 1 point, but Bhutan became group runners-up on goal difference. Their opponents in the last four are Group A champions India.

The two SAFF semi-finals will be held at the National Stadium on 14 November. India and Bhutan meet in the first match at 3pm. And at 8.30pm, Bangladesh's opponents in the second semi-final are Pakistan.