Topu helps BD draw against Afghanistan

Bangladesh Football Team, the underdogs of the game forced a stronger Afghanistan side to a 1-1 draw in their FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers Group E match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.

Bangladesh looked to be heading towards a defeat after forward Amredin Sharifi gave Afghanistan the lead in the 47th minute. But in the 83rd minute defender Topu Barmaan emerged as the unlikely saviour for his team, as his brilliant swivelling strike gave Bangladesh its second point in the qualifiers. Earlier, Bangladesh’s defense looked stern from the start as they kept their post intact in the first half while testing the opposition with a few ambitious runs. But the Afghan side came hard at the Bangladesh goal after the break and Sharifi breached its defences with a precise chip following a cutback from defender David Ahmed Najem. Bangladesh players didn’t lose heart with the early goal in the second half as Jamie Day’s charges continued fighting against a side who are 35 places ahead of them in the FIFA rankings.

Bangladesh kept pestering at the opponent half before finally, Topu scored from inside the box following a pass coming from fellow defender Riaydul Hasan Rafi’s header. This was Bangladesh’s second draw in the qualifiers’, with the first one coming against India, which also ended in 1-1. Bangladesh had earlier lost to Afghanistan by a solitary goal in the first-leg match at the Central Republican Stadium in Dushanbe on September 10, 2019. Bangladesh is still bottom of their five-team Group E. Bangladesh will next take on India on June 7 at the same venue.