FIFA, AFC Qualifiers: Bangladesh go down fighting against Qatar

Dhaka – Bangladesh’s footballers conceded a 0-2 defeat against Asian Champions Qatar in their home match of the joint Qualification round for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 at a packed Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) on Thursday evening.

Forward Yusuf Abdurisag and midfielder Karim Boudiaf scored one goal each for the Gulf nation, also the hosts of FIFA World Cup 2022.

With the non-stop rain throughout Thursday reducing the pitch to a mudpit that acted as a leveller, Bangladesh produced some good chances in the first half but missed out due to poor finishing.

In the 8th minute, Captain Jamal Bhuiyan got a golden chance to score from the danger zone but his shot flashed wide edging the left post.

Qatar finally broke the deadlock in the 27th minute as forward Yusuf Abdurisag sent the ball home from close-range with a right footed finish, utilizing a short pass from another forward Al Moiz Ali (1-0).

Bangladesh tried to equalize adopting a counter-attacking style but all of the efforts went in vein.

In the 42nd minute, the men in red and green got another chance but unfortunately midfielder Biplu Ahamed and defender Rahmat Mia failed to find the net under strong pressure from the Qatari defenders.

In the 2nd half, hosts Bangladesh continued their attacking football and created several good chances.

Bangladesh missed two more close chances just in a span of two minutes — a close range shot from the danger zone by Biplu Ahamed went wide in the 72nd minute, while Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb foiled a close attempt by substitute forward Mahbubur Rahman in the 74th minute.

However, midfielder Karim Boudiaf doubled the margin for Qatar deep into stoppage time (92nd minute) by a close range left-footed shot from inside the box, off a short pass by substitute forward Ahmed Alaaeldin (2-0).

The match saw one yellow card — Mahbubur Rahman of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh, who was put on Group E of the AFC Cup with Qatar, Oman, neighboring India and Afghanistan, started their campaign with a 0-1 goal defeat against Afghanistan in their first math at the Central Republican Stadium in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on September 10.

In the remaining group matches, Bangladesh will play Oman on November 14 in Oman, Afghanistan on March 26 next year in Bangladesh, Qatar on March 31 in Qatar, India on June 4 in Bangladesh and Oman on June 9 in Bangladesh.

Qatar: Saad Al Sheeb, Abdulkqreem Hassan, Abdulaziz Hatim (Ahmed Alaaeldin-81st), Hassan Al Haydos, Karim Boudiaf, Musaab Khidr, Salim Al Hajri, Bassam Al Rawi, Bualem Khkhohi, Yusuf Abdurisag (Ali Hassan Afif-68th), Al moiz Ali.

Bangladesh: Ashraful Islam Rana, Rahmat Mia, Yeasin Khan, Jamal Bhuiyan, Biplu Ahamed, Nabib Newaz Ziban (Mahbubur Rahman-70th), Sohel Rana, Mohammad Ibrahim, Saad Uddin, Raihan Hasan, Riyadul Hasan. UNB