Second-half substitute Rabiul Hasan scored a wonderful goal as Bangladesh beat Laos 1-0 in the first leg of their first round qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup at the New Lao National Stadium in Vientiane today.
The Arambagh Krira Shangha forward raceived a long-ball from skipper Jamal Bhuiyan and stepped past a Laos player before unleashing a fierce grounder from the edge of the box, beating the Laos goalkeeper at his near post. Rabiul had also scored in Bangladesh's last international match against Cambodia in their 1-0 win in Phnom Penh in March this year. The win would definitely work as a huge advantage in the final reckoning following the second leg, which will be held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on June 11. Bangladesh did not start the game too well as they were in their shell in the first half. The hosts dominated possesion, shots on target and corner kicks, but thanks to some disciplined defending and tidy glovework from Ashraful Islam Rana, Bangladesh went to the break unscathed. Bangladesh coach Jamie Day made three changes in the second half, replacing Arifur Rahman with Rabiul first before bringing on Tawhidul Alam Sabuz in place of Matin Miah and Mamunul Islam in place of Nabib Newaz Jibon. Rabiul's excellent goal gave Bangladesh the advantage, but they failed to extend their lead despite Laos's desperate play in search of an equaliser in the latter stages of the game. However, the Bangladesh defence held firm and ensured that they would return to Dhaka with a massive advantage. Bangladesh were the first to start pressing and threatened to score within the opening minutes of the game but their finishing left a lot to be desired. That was to set the tone of the first half which was marked by both teams inability to convert from close range and thus ended goalless. The first half also witnessed multiple wayward free-kicks from both teams. Soon after Bangladesh fluffed their chances in the early minutes, it was the turn of Laos forward and skipper Souk Aphone Vongchiengkham who couldn’t quite put the finishing touch on an exciting short passage of play. Laos came alive post the 20th minute and put pressure on the Bangladesh defence in the 15 minutes that followed. In this period, they came close to converting twice but were denied on both occasions by Bangladesh goalkeeper Ashraful Islam. In the second half, Laos upped the ante and came out playing an aggressive brand of football that earned them regular attention of the referee. However, the play almost paid off as they came close to taking the lead on multiple occasions around the 60th minute but were denied by some able glovework by the Bangladesh custodian. Eventually, it was Bangladesh who finally broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute as a long aerial pass was stylishly put away by Robiul Hasan with a low shot from just outside the box that went past goalkeeper Xaysavath in a blink. Bangladesh continued in the same vein in the following minutes and ensured that they didn’t let the control of the game slip. The Bangladeshi defence was happy to put their bodies on the line to hold on to the lead that earned them a number of yellow cards in the process. The winners over the two legs will qualify for the group stages of the joint qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup while the losers will be all but devoid of AFC/FIFA-sanctioned competitive matches for the next four-year cycle. Laos will travel to Dhaka for the second leg on Tuesday.
