Bangladesh was defeated by Australia at the FIFA World Cup/Asia Cup Qualifiers . Nevertheless, Syed Faiaz Ahmed is still hopeful.
The biggest ever match in the history of Bangladesh football was when they hosted Asian Champion against one of the powerhouses of World Football, Australia, in their own backyard on 17th November, 2015. that dream could be transcended to many young men, and who knows, one day one of them can translate that into a reality despite the probability is infinitesimal and next to impossible now.
Bangladesh received a 4-0 thrashing from Australia, but the consequences could have been more fatal if the resilient hosts didn’t protect their goalpost for the last 47 minutes as the Socceroos could not add any more after their 4th, the third one for their 35-year old striker Tim Cahill in the 43rd minute.
Cahill, the most celebrated player of the rich Australian football was indomitable in the first half despite the best efforts of the Bangladeshi players.
However, the Bengal boys geared up in the second half and resisted Cahill and his illustrious team-mates, including their skipper Mile Jedinak, a star of English Premier League.
Moreover, the home team met an unfortunate 5-0 defeat against Tajikistan a week ago after they conceded the same margin to the Socceroos in their ground a month and overcoming them was not an easy task.
After the match Bangladesh’s coach, Fabio Lopez shares that one of the primary reasons his charges conceded those goals was because of the differences in height between the players of both teams.
Despite which, he praised the boys for showing resilience and remarked on passing skills as sometimes they had seven-eight-nine completed passes against the Socceroos in trot, which was indeed a satisfactory run for Bangladesh.
Regardless of Bangladesh’s loss, this match paved the way for the team as a potential candidate for such matches.
Players like skipper Mamunul, defender Nasir, brilliant midfielders Jamal Bhuiyan and Hemanta Vincent showed that football in Bangladesh has begun to rise from the ashes.
The men put their best foot forward against the Aussies with the buoyant support of 20,000 that were present in the Bangabandhu stadium during the match.
On an entirely different note, it can be said that nothing can revive football more than a jam-packed stadium. However, the sport could fare well on a national level, provided that there is more enthusiasm from the audience.