Bangladesh turn up too late in U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers

Bangladesh registered a consolation 4-1 win against Singapore in their last Group C fixture of the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Vietnam on Tuesday.

A four-goal spree in 12 second-half minutes saw the men in red and green finish the campaign on a high, after having already been eliminated from contention for the final round.

After a barren first half, Fahamedul Islam broke the deadlock with a long-range strike in the 70th minute, before fellow substitute Mohammad Al Amin doubled the lead two minutes later. Mohsin Ahmed added a third in the 80th, and captain Sheikh Morsalin put the icing on the cake, scoring a long-range goal two minutes later. Singapore salvaged a consolation a minute into stoppage time.

Bangladesh had started their campaign with a 2-0 defeat against Vietnam, before suffering a 1-0 defeat against Yemen. The latter was especially painful, as they conceded the goal 30 seconds before the final whistle.

Bangladesh had gone to Vietnam with a month-long preparation, which included a camp in Bahrain and two matches against Bahrain U-23s.