In the Asian Cup qualifiers at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Bangladesh started with Hamza Choudhury in the XI, but Jamal Bhuiyan was not included in the starting lineup. Instead, Topu Barman was the captain, but he had to leave the field injured in the 22nd minute. Despite that, Bangladesh dominated India but just couldn’t find the back of the net.
Bangladesh got their first chance in the very first minute. Indian goalkeeper Vishal Kaith, despite being unchallenged, gifted the ball to Mojibur Rahman Jony. However, even with an open net, he couldn’t direct his shot on target, hitting the side netting instead. In the 9th minute, Sheikh Morsalin delivered a cross that Shahriar Emon headed but failed to keep on target.
Soon after, Mohammad Hridoy got the ball in a dangerous position due to an Indian defensive error. His shot wasn’t accurate, and Indian defender Subhasish cleared it off the line. In the 21st minute, Emon got another chance from a Morsalin cross, but from just six yards out, his header was off-target again. Worse, after heading the ball, he collided with captain Topu Barman. Though Topu received medical attention, he couldn’t continue, forcing Bangladesh to lose their captain early.
India had a notable chance in the 31st minute. Liston Colaco’s cross found Udanta Singh, whose header was saved by Mitul Marma. The rebound fell to Farukh, but Mitul blocked his shot as well.
Bangladesh’s Rakib Hossain later found himself one-on-one with Indian goalkeeper Vishal Kaith but couldn’t convert. In the 41st minute, Jony got another golden opportunity but wasted it again.
After missing so many chances, Bangladesh went into halftime with nothing but regret.
