Bangladesh finished as runners up of Group A in the AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers despite suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Uzbekistan at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
The loss also ended any hopes Bangladesh were harbouring of making it to the final round, scheduled to be held next year in Bahrain.
Doston Ibragimov netted two for the visitors, who concluded their qualifying campaign as group champions with maximum nine points from three matches. The hosts, on the other hand, finished theirs on four points from the same number of games.
Bangladesh head coach Saiful Bari Titu made four changes to the playing XI that drew 1-1 against Bhutan last Sunday with Rahmat, Shakil, Anik and Sarwar Zaman Nipu replacing Jahangir Alam Sajeeb, Bappy, Rohit Sarkar and Saad Uddin respectively.
Midfielder Ibragimov gave the Uzbeks the lead in the 13th minute when he placed home a shot from a goal-mouth melee.
Ibragimov doubled the tourists' lead in the 62nd minute before substitute forward Abdixolikov Bobir extended the scoreline 10 minutes from time. Sukhrov Nurulloev completed the rout in injury time.
Earlier yesterday, Sri Lanka ended third in Group A following a facile 2-0 win over Bhutan at the same venue. Forward Mohomed Afam Akram scored both the goals for the island nation.
The Lankans concluded their campaign on three points, two more than Bhutan, who finished bottom of the four-nation group.