Bangladesh continued their brilliant form in the AFC U-17 Qualifiers in Chongqing, China. After a commanding 5–0 win over Timor Leste in their opening match, they delivered an even bigger performance today by crushing Brunei Darussalam 8–0.
Although the margin was huge, no Bangladeshi player completed a hat-trick. Rifat Kazi and Apu scored two goals each, while Manik, Bayezid, Faisal, and Alif each added one.
Strong Start Sets the Tone
Bangladesh controlled the game right from kickoff. In the 13th minute, Faisal delivered a precise left-wing pass that Apu masterfully finished. Ten minutes later, Rifat doubled the lead with an excellent strike after beating two defenders.
Riduan then assisted Faisal for the third goal, and just a minute later, Manik made it 4–0 with a powerful long-range effort.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆,” 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Second-Half Brilliance
Bangladesh maintained its momentum after the break. Apu scored his second goal just four minutes into the half following a sharp cross from Riduan. In the 73rd minute, Brunei’s goalkeeper parried Faisal’s long-range attempt, but Rifat reacted quickly to complete his brace.
Two minutes later, Arif capitalized on a defensive mix-up in the Brunei box to score. In the 79th minute, Bayezid sealed the emphatic win with a superb finish.
Head coach Golam Rabbani Choton praised his players, saying,
“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒚𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍.”
What’s Next for Bangladesh?
Bangladesh is placed in Group A of the AFC U-17 Qualifiers alongside China (hosts), Brunei, Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, and Bahrain. The group winner will qualify for the main tournament in Saudi Arabia next year.
Bangladesh’s next test will be against Sri Lanka on November 26. Their toughest challenges in the group are expected to come from China and Bahrain.
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