Bangladesh men's football team suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat against Singapore in their second AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers group-stage match held at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday (Jun 10).
The home side showed promising attacking play early on, with Shamit Shome delivering a brilliant through ball to Rakib Hossain in the first half. Shome continued to create opportunities in the first half, but neither Rakib nor Fahamedul Islam managed to convert their chances. Hamza Choudhury also came close with a well-struck free-kick that sailed just over the crossbar.
Singapore opened the scoring just before halftime when Song Ui Young found the net in the 45th minute. After the break, Ikhsan Fandi extended their lead in the 58th minute. Bangladesh fought back valiantly as Rakib pulled one goal back in the 67th minute, capitalizing on a superb assist from Hamza Choudhury. Despite a series of late chances and multiple corners, Bangladesh was unable to find an equalizer.
With this result, Bangladesh remain third in the group with one point from two matches. Singapore top the standings with four points. In other group action, India lost to Hong Kong and now sit with one point, while Hong Kong are second with four points from two games.
