Dhaka – Palestine for the first time clinched the title of Bangabandhu Gold Cup International Football Tournament denying Tajikistan with a one goal in a penalty shootout after a goalless play in the stipulated and extra time at Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday.In the penalty shootout Zorrilla, Iwisat, Al Battat and Al Bahdari converted their shots correctly for Palestine to clinch the 5th edition title of the six-nation tournament. Abdugaforov, Nazarov and Asrorov were successful for Tajikistan while Tursunov and Davlatmir miss fired one shot each.
Palestine reached the final eliminating hosts Bangladesh by 2-0 goals in the hard fought second semifinal at the Birshrestha Ruhul Amin Stadium in Cox’s Bazar while Tajikistan made final berth eliminating the Philippines also by 2-0 goals in the first semifinal at the same venue.
In the group stage, both Palestine and Philippines emerged their respective groups’ champions with all-win records. Palestine defeated Tajikistan 2-0 and holders Nepal 1-0 goals in their Group ‘A’ encounters. Philippines beat Laos 3-1 and Bangladesh 1-0 in their Group ‘B’ matches.Roll of Honour: Malaysia [1996; 2015], Japan [1999], Nepal [2016] and Palestine [2018].UNB
