Bangladesh suffered a 2-1 defeat to Singapore in their Group C tie of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers at the jam-packed National Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Singapore midfielder Song Uiyoung and forward Ikhsan Fandi Ahmad scored once each in either half of the game before forward Rakib Hossain pulled one goal back for Bangladesh, who are 22 places behind the visitors (183rd) in FIFA rankings.
Singapore goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud prevented the hosts from an equaliser by fisting super-sub Sahariar Emon鈥檚 header to safety in injury time.
Bangladesh went behind in the 44th minute when goalkeeper Mitul Marma came out to punch a cross but failed to clear it. The ball was headed to the right side of the box and then passed across to the left, where Song was waiting.听
Song volleyed the ball into the Bangladesh net despite a desperate lunge by Hamza Choudhury.听
Javier Cabrera鈥檚 charges began the second half with renewed energy but were caught out again in the 57th minute. A shot from a Singapore player inside the box was blocked by Mitul, but the clearance was poor.
The ball fell kindly to Ikhsan, who calmly slotted it in at the far post. Captain Topu Barman, who should have been covering the far side, was caught out of position as the ball rolled into the net.
Despite the setback, Bangladesh didn't give up. Their persistence paid off in the 66th minute when Rakib finally found the net. He latched onto a well-timed pass from Hamza and finished coolly.
The goal reignited Bangladesh's hopes, and they pushed forward relentlessly in search of the equaliser. Debutant Canada-based midfielder Shamit Shome and Hamza continued to attack the Singapore defence, but a lack of clinical finishing haunted them till the final whistle.
It was Bangladesh鈥檚 second defeat to Singapore since their first meeting at the group stage of the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August 1973, when the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Later Bangladesh conceded a 2-1 defeat to Singapore in a friendly match in Dhaka in 2015.
With the defeat, Bangladesh were in third place in the group with one point from two games but ahead of India (4th), who conceded a 1-0 away defeat to Hong Kong in the day鈥檚 other match.
Singapore are on top of the four-team table with four points from two games due to a better goal difference than Hong Kong, who are in second place with four points from the same number of outings.听
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