Bangladesh came from behind to play out a 1-1 draw against Afghanistan in the Group-E 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar’s Doha Thursday, reports UNB.
After a barren first half, forward Amir Sharifi put Afghanistan ahead in the 48th minute by an angular shot from the danger zone (1-0).
Veteran defender Topu Barman levelled the margin for Bangladesh in the 84th minute (1-1).
Bangladesh settled for a draw after fighting bravely with their physically superior Afghan rivals until the final whistle, especially in the last few minutes.
This was the second draw for both Afghanistan and Bangladesh in their six matches of the ongoing qualifiers. Afghanistan beat Bangladesh 1-0 in the first round match in Tajikistan’s Dushanbe on 10 September 2019.
Despite the day’s result, Bangladesh remained at the bottom of the five-team Group E, securing two points from six matches while Afghanistan stayed at the third slot with five points from six matches.
Qatar is now comfortably leading the points table, securing 16 points from six matches. Among others, Oman have secured 12 and India three points from five matches.
Bangladesh will face India and Oman in their remaining Group E qualifiers on 7 and 15 June, both at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
Earlier, Bangladesh started their FIFA and AFC joint qualifiers campaign with a 0-1 defeat against Afghanistan, a 0-2 loss against Asian champions Qatar in Dhaka, a 1-4 defeat against Oman, and a humiliating 0-5 loss against Qatar in Doha.
However, the booters earned a 1-1 draw against India in Kolkata.
Bangladesh team against Afghanistan
Anisur Rahman Zico, Rahmat Miya, Topu Barman, Riyadul Hasan, Tariq Raihan Kazi, Jamal Bhuyan (C), Masuk Miya Zoni, Sohel Rana, Biplu Ahmed, Matin Miah and Rakib Hossain.