Bangladesh midfielder Hamza Choudhury asked the supporters to stay positive after his side suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Singapore in their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers third-round match at the National Stadium on Tuesday.
The highly anticipated clash, boosted by the addition of expatriate players like Hamza Choudhury, Fahamedul Islam and Shamit Shome, saw thousands of fans crowd the venue hours before the kick-off.
However, the hopes of a historic night faded as Bangladesh failed to meet expectations on the pitch.
鈥業t was not the result we wanted! But we can be proud as a team and as a nation!鈥� Hamza wrote in a Facebook post after the match.
鈥榃e need to stay positive because we鈥檙e only just getting started and inshaAllah we will be where we want to be very soon!鈥�
鈥楾hank you from the bottom of my heart for the love and support. See you guys in October,鈥� added the 26-year-old Sheffield United midfielder.
Bangladesh fought hard against an upper-ranked Singapore, but after going 2-0 down, it was all but over for the hosts, who are 22 places behind the visitors (183rd) in FIFA rankings.
Rakib Hossain pulled one back in the 67th minute, which reignited Bangladesh鈥檚 hopes, and they pushed forward relentlessly in search of the equaliser.
Debutant, Canada-based midfielder Shamit and Hamza continued to attack the Singapore defence, but a lack of clinical finishing haunted them till the final whistle.
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 the same points from the same number of outings.
Meanwhile, England-based Hamza, Shamit and Spanish coach Javier Cabrera departed the country on Wednesday just hours after their disappointing loss.
Italy-based Fahamedul Islam will spend a week with his family before he leaves Bangladesh.
