Bangladesh on the brink of elimination after losing to syria

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Bangladesh were crowned champions of the SAFF U-20 Championship, and since then, the country’s representatives have dreamed of qualifying for the AFC U-20 Asian Cup.

However, after suffering back-to-back defeats in the qualifiers in Uzbekistan, that dream is now on the verge of ending.

In their second group-stage match in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh lost 3-0 to Syria. As a result, Bangladesh have failed to earn a single point from their two matches and currently sit at the bottom of the group.

Syria had lost their opening match 1-0 to India. By defeating Bangladesh today and earning three points, Syria have entered the race for the group championship and runner-up spot.

The eight group winners and the seven best runners-up from the qualifiers will advance to next year’s final tournament. If the India-Uzbekistan match, scheduled to be played about two hours after today’s game, ends in a draw, Bangladesh will be eliminated from the tournament with one match still remaining. India and Uzbekistan would then both have four points, meaning Bangladesh would have no chance of finishing as runners-up even if they win their final match.

Bangladesh fought hard for almost the entire first half against Syria. However, Syria took control of the match by scoring twice in quick succession-once in the 44th minute and again during first-half stoppage time. Both goals resulted from defensive mistakes by Bangladesh.

For the first goal, a Syrian forward used a backheel to pass a high ball to a teammate, who was left unmarked by the Bangladeshi defenders.

Two minutes later, Syria scored again from a long-range shot from the other side of the box. Although the Bangladeshi goalkeeper dived in both directions, he was unable to make either save.