Bangladesh’s Asian Cup dream nears end after two consecutive defeats

Bangladesh has tasted the second consecutive defeat in the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers. Gerard Jones’s team lost 3-0 to Syria at the Dustilik Stadium in Tashkent. Earlier in the first match the Bangladesh youth side had lost 2-0 to hosts Uzbekistan. As a result the hope of advancing to the main round has practically ended after remaining pointless in two matches. At the same time questions have also arisen about the team’s strategy and the capability of head coach Gerard Jones.

Syria created pressure on Bangladesh right from the start in the do-or-die match. Bangladesh’s defence had to remain busy only in dealing with the waves of attacks. Syria got the result of that pressure towards the end of the first half. In the 44th minute a long through pass from midfield by Mustafa Sheikh Yusuf created a gap in Bangladesh’s defence. Receiving a back pass from Abdullah Alnazar, Belal Al Musl sent the ball into the net with a cool head. Syria went ahead.

After conceding the goal Bangladesh tried to return to the match. But Syria struck again before the break. The margin was doubled with Al Herek’s goal. As a result Bangladesh had to go into the break trailing 2-0.

In the second half Bangladesh needed to increase the pace and sharpness in attack to turn the match around. But no major change was seen in the picture on the field. Rather Bangladesh’s defence had to remain busy repeatedly only in dealing with Syria’s attacks. Adam Abbas also could not make an impact as expected; no effective attack was created from him either.

In the 70th minute Nazmul Huda Faisal received a yellow card for committing a foul outside the D-box. From that free-kick Almeri’s excellent shot was brilliantly saved by Bangladesh goalkeeper Raj Chowdhury. Later danger was also created from Almeri’s corner. Bangladesh’s defence faced several difficult tests in Syria’s one after another attacks.

At this time Zidan Yusuf’s performance gave some relief to Bangladesh. The team was saved from danger due to his firmness in several important moments. Goalkeeper Raj Chowdhury also made several good saves and did not allow the margin to increase.

However, Syria’s third goal could not be stopped in the end. In the 88th minute Bangladesh again committed a foul and created the opportunity for a set-piece. Receiving Abdullah Alnazar’s low shot inside the D-box, Al Sarraj sent the ball into the net with a soft touch. With that Syria’s 3-0 victory was confirmed.

With two defeats in two matches Bangladesh is at the bottom of the group. Syria is at the top on goal difference with one win in two matches. Uzbekistan and India are in second and third positions respectively.

With this defeat Bangladesh has fallen into a difficult situation in the qualifiers. The youth team has largely dropped out of the race to advance to the main round. Alongside the performance on the field, the discomfort off the field is also being brought into discussion as one of the reasons for Bangladesh’s failure.

During the preparation camp a dispute between head coach Gerard Jones and assistant coach Atikur Rahman Misu and a subsequent incident of physical altercation had come to the fore. Questions have also arisen about how much such a situation has affected the team’s preparation and environment.

Along with this there was a shortage of international practice matches. Before the qualifiers Bangladesh played practice matches against Bangladesh Army and Fortis FC. In contrast the other teams of the group came to the qualifiers after playing comparatively more international matches. As a result the shortage of Bangladesh’s preparation in this important competition has also become clear.