Bangladesh national football team shattered the dream of country’s football fanatics as they lost to hosts Nepal by 1-2 goal in the final of the tri-nation tournament at Dashrath Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday. The entire country expected that the footballers would win the game and bring the trophy from Nepal. But their expectation went in vain. Booterssurely broke nation’s heart with this horrendous defeat.
Sanjok Rai and Bishal Rai scored apiece for the Gorkhalis in the first half. Rai opened the firing in 18th minute with his lovely strike. Bishal Rai doubled the lead in 42nd minute utilizing a cheeky pass from Sanjok Rai. However, forward Mahbubur Rahman scored a lone goal for Bangladesh in the 83rd minute and reduced the margin of the match. Winners Nepal received 5,000 USD.
The national football team had a golden chance to end their 26 years trophy drought at away tournaments but themed in Red and Green failed to fulfill their quest. Their performance was shambolic to say the least. Coach Jamie Day & co. did not even had a fighting chance in front of the Gorkhalis.
A question now rises, what the footballers do in training sessions and how the coach instill team plan in them? If we look at the entire tournament, we will see that the performance of the team was not up to the mark in the field. They failed to play as an unit. Strikers couldn’t score freely and the midfield didn’t give any proper support to the team. The engine room of the team was totally inactive.
The men in Red and Green last won the Burma Tournament, also known as four-nation International Invitational Football Tournament, in 1995. Since then, booters didn’t won a single silverware for the nation in away tournaments. Now, more than quarter century went away, but booters failed to bring any silverware at home. The quality of country’s football is decreasing day-by day and the current ranking of the national side is 186th.
Is there any future of Bangladesh football? We see no hope in near future, especially under this board led by Kazi Salahuddin, who never seems to have any proper plan to enhance the country’s footballing infrastructure. The last two international titles which Bangladesh won -- SAFF Championship in 2003 and MujibBarsho FIFA International Football Series against Nepal in 2020 both on the home soil. Meanwhile, Bangladesh U-23s earned a gold medal in the South Asian Games in Dhaka in 2010.
