Bangladesh, Qatar win in Asian U-20 qualifiers in Bahrain

TDT | Manama                                                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bangladesh and Qatar were both victorious last night in the Group B qualifiers for the AFC U-20 Asian Cup 2023, currently being held in Bahrain.

Bangladesh posted a late 2-1 victory over Bhutan to rise to the top of the division table while Qatar claimed a convincing 3-1 win against Nepal.

Both games were played at Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium at Muharraq Club in Arad. In Bangladesh’s late win, substitute Ashraful Haque Asif fired in the decisive goal two minutes from fulltime.

Earlier in the contest, the Bangladeshis opened the scoring in the 33rd minute through forward Piash Nova. That was enough to give them the lead heading into the break. After the restart, Bhutan levelled the contest with a 59th minute goal from substitute Santa Kumar Limboo.

That set the stage for Asif’s match winner. Bangladesh posted their first win to go along with their draw against hosts Bahrain, while Bhutan suffered their first loss after previously beating Nepal. In Qatar’s big win, they scored two of their goals before the break, and added a third early in the second half.

The Qataris then gifted Nepal their goal following a blunder on a back pass to the goalkeeper, but that made little difference to the end result. The win came in their first match of the qualifiers while Nepal suffered their second loss. Group B action continues tomorrow with another two matches to be played.

The Qataris will be looking to maintain their winning ways when they take on Bhutan at 6pm, to be followed at 9pm by hosts Bahrain returning to the pitch against Nepal. Both games are scheduled to be played at the same venue. Bahrain had a rest day yesterday and will be looking to post their first win of the qualifiers.