Although the dream of playing in the main round of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup had ended after losing the first two matches, Bangladesh at least managed to finish on a high note by beating Singapore by a big margin in the third round. On Tuesday (September 9), in a Group ‘C’ match at Viet Tri Stadium in Vietnam, Bangladesh’s U-23 team defeated Singapore 4-1.
Between the 70th and 82nd minutes, Bangladesh scored four goals. From nearly 30 yards out, Fahmidul broke past the defenders and netted with a powerful strike. It was Fahmidul’s first goal in a Bangladesh jersey.
Two minutes later, forward Al Amin doubled the lead for Bangladesh. Eight minutes after that, Mohsin Ahmed scored another, also from a long ball. A Singapore defender failed to clear properly, and Mohsin received the ball before finishing with an angled shot.
The final goal came from Bangladesh’s U-23 captain Sheikh Morsalin, who fired in a brilliant shot from the edge of the box in the 82nd minute. Singapore pulled one back during injury time.
For the first 45 minutes, Singapore played impressively and created multiple goal-scoring chances. Bangladesh goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Shravan pulled off some outstanding saves.
The game completely changed after Fahmidul was brought on in the second half. He opened the scoring and inspired the comeback. With the pace and skill of Fahmidul and Al Amin, Singapore’s defense crumbled, losing control of the match.
In the past two editions of the AFC U-23 tournament, Bangladesh had failed to win a single match — not even managing to score a goal. Today’s victory came after a long wait.
Just four months ago in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s senior team had lost 2-1 to Singapore in the Asian Cup qualifiers. While Hamza and Samit couldn’t do it, Morsalin, Fahmidul, and Al Amin delivered for the U-23s, securing a win against Singapore. This victory will serve as inspiration for Bangladesh ahead of next month’s Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong.
