SAFF Championship 2023: Bangladesh beat Maldives 3-1 to keep semi-final qualification hopes alive

Hamza Mohammed (17th minute) put Maldives ahead but Bangladesh counter-attacked through Rakib Hossain (42nd minute), Tariq Qazi (67th minute) and Sheikh Morslin (90th minute) to collect three crucial points in the Group B match .

Maldives also have three points due to their 2-0 win over Bhutan in the first match. Now, both Maldives and Bangladesh are on a win-win basis against Lebanon, who also have 3 points, and Bhutan in their last league matches on June 28.

Despite a must win to stay afloat, Bangladesh did not show much urgency in the early stages of the match. Maldives took full advantage of that laxity to move forward through Hamza.

The goal seemed to have made Bangladesh players realize the need to be more active, and it reflected in their moves. They launched quick counter-attacks and closed ranks whenever the Maldives tried to increase their tally.

The experienced Rakib was the kingpin of Bangladesh’s fightback and found the equalizer when he headed the ball past Maldivian custodian Hussain Sharif from a free kick.

Bangladesh continued the same rhythm in the second half as well and kept going for more goals. Their efforts paid off in the 67th minute when Kazi took advantage of a goal mouth following a corner kick.

He gently tapped the ball in amid the confusion to put his team ahead 2-1 and, surprisingly, the Maldivian players had spent all their energy. Bangladesh players, on the other hand, looked even more agile and played several tricks to take the match ahead of their opponents.

Bangladesh dashed any faint hopes of a Maldivian equalizer in the 90th minute when Sheikh Morsalin fired the ball into the net to make it 3-1.