A sudden silence swept across the National Stadium in Dhaka. For a few seconds, millions held their breath—eyes fixed on one moment that could change the match. In the 12th minute, 20-year-old Sheikh Morsalin tapped in a perfect pass from senior forward Rakib Hossain, sending the ball into the Indian net. The stadium erupted instantly. After holding onto that lead, Bangladesh clinched a historic win over India—their first victory in 22 years.
Morsalin’s Historic Goal Sparks Nationwide Celebration
The final whistle from the Philippine referee ignited celebrations throughout the country. Morsalin, the scorer of the decisive goal, hails from Charbhadrasan in Faridpur. Born on November 25, 2005, in BS Dangi village, he grew up mostly under the care of his mother and grandparents, as his father, Sheikh Mujibar, worked in Saudi Arabia. The memories of his grandfather’s yard, quiet afternoons by the pond, and the peaceful rural breeze still surround him.
Morsalin is the eldest of two brothers. His younger brother, Mustakim, a seventh-grader, also dreams of becoming a footballer. Morsalin’s passion began in the fields of Adarsh Secondary School. After school, he would vanish straight to the field with a ball in hand. His mother, Shefali Begum, recalls,
“𝑰𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅.”
From Village Grounds to National Glory
Seeing her son’s relentless dedication, Shefali eventually began supporting his dream. In 2015, Morsalin’s uncle, Sobhan Pramanik, took him to a selection trial in Faridpur. The young boy, then between 10-13 years old, passed the trials and later earned a place at BKSP in 2016—the start of his professional journey. Sobhan, who once played football himself, saw something special in the boy.
“There are wins and losses in sports,” Sobhan said,
“𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔—𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆.”
His grandfather, Alauddin, now 72, fondly remembers his childhood: “When he was three, he didn’t care about a 100-taka note. But if he got a two-taka Doel note, his smile lit up the whole house. That smile is still the same—only his goals have grown bigger.”
In his early years, Morsalin played regularly at the Charbhadrasan Government College field and for the local sporting club. The club’s president, Nazmul Huda, said that Morsalin’s rise has inspired many children in the area to take up football. “He is the pride of Charbhadrasan,” he added.
Today, the mother who once scolded him for skipping studies now cheers him on with pride. Shefali Begum, with tears of joy, tells him, “People love you. Keep this love close, move forward, and make your country proud.”
Despite being celebrated nationwide for the winning goal against India, Morsalin remained humble. He refused to take full credit, instead praising Rakib Hossain for the assist.
“𝑰 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑹𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒃 𝑩𝒉𝒂𝒊’𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 100%. 𝑯𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔—𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒆.”
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