Bangladesh secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Bhutan on Sunday at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Arunachal, advancing to the semi-finals of the SAFF U-19 Championship.
Murshed Ali opened the scoring with a stunning individual goal in the 13th minute. He cut inside from the right and curled a powerful left-footed shot into the net.
Bangladesh continued to press, and in the 27th minute, Sumon Soren doubled the lead. Murshed’s cross deflected off a Bhutan defender and landed at Soren`s feet, who slotted it past the goalkeeper despite his attempt to save.
In the second half, Bangladesh focused more on ball control than aggressive attacks. In the 73rd minute, Murshed’s shot deflected off a defender for a corner, which was punched away by the Bhutan goalkeeper. Moments later, Bangladeshi keeper Ismail Hossain Mahin preserved the clean sheet with a brilliant save, diving to parry a close-range attempt from Tending Tshering.
Bangladesh picked up the tempo late in the game. In the 79th minute, Nazmul Huda Faisal narrowly missed connecting with a pass inside the box. However, he made no mistake in stoppage time, converting a precise low cross from Murshed with a smooth tap-in to seal the win.
With this victory, Bangladesh keep their title defense hopes alive and head confidently into the semi-finals.
