Bangladesh continues its Asian Cup qualifying journey from Group C, where Singapore has already secured its ticket to the Asia Cup as group champions. Singapore confirmed the top position after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Hong Kong on Tuesday, taking their tally to 11 points from five matches.
Hong Kong sits second with eight points. Even if Hong Kong beats India and Bangladesh pulls off a victory against Singapore in the final round, both Singapore and Hong Kong would finish with 11 points. However, Singapore holds the advantage in the head-to-head record, having drawn the first meeting and winning the second. Their win over Hong Kong sealed their qualification beyond doubt.
Bangladesh previously suffered a 1-2 loss at home against Singapore. A win in the final match would allow Hamza-Jamal’s side to finish the campaign with eight points—just three short of what they needed to secure qualification. This narrow margin will leave Bangladesh reflecting on missed opportunities.
Rakib and Tapu Suspended for Crucial Match
Bangladesh’s final Asian Cup qualifier will be held on March 31, but the team will be missing two key players—forward Rakib Hossain and defender Tapu Barman. Both players accumulated two yellow cards after being booked again in the match against India. As per the tournament rules, receiving two yellow cards results in an automatic one-match suspension.
A team official expressed the frustration within the camp, saying,
“𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔.”
The issue of card accumulation has been a persistent concern for Bangladesh throughout the qualifiers. The team has received 11 yellow cards in five matches. In their first match against India on March 25, Hridoy and Mujibur Rahman Jony were cautioned. The home match against Singapore on June 10 saw Bangladesh pick up a tournament-high four cards, shown to defenders Shakil Ahad, Tapu Barman, and forwards Fahim and Fahmidul.
Rakib earned a yellow card in the match held in Dhaka on October 9, while Fahmidul and Tariq Kazi were booked in the away fixture on October 14. In the most recent home match, Rakib and Tapu both received their second yellows, ruling them out of the critical showdown against Singapore.
A team insider noted,
“𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.”
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