Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley was delighted with his side’s performance after the hosts produced a commanding 4-0 victory over Sri Lanka to finish as Group A winners in the TECNO SAFF Championship 2026 at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Goals from Shamit Shome, Hamza Choudhury, Farhaan Ali Wahid and Rakib Hossain secured Bangladesh’s second consecutive victory and sent them into Saturday’s semi-finals with maximum points.
Dooley was particularly pleased with the manner in which his team executed their attacking approach, keeping possession, moving the ball quickly and creating one-on-one opportunities in the final third.
“I’m very happy with the results and also with the way we played. That’s what we talked about – how we want to play. We want to play football, let the ball move and be dangerous up front, trying to get into one-on-one situations with Rakib and on the wings also,” Dooley said after the match.
The German-American coach also revealed that he had advised Farhaan at half-time to use his dribbling ability further up the pitch rather than taking unnecessary risks.
The 19-year-old winger, who made his tournament debut against Sri Lanka, responded in spectacular fashion, weaving past several defenders before producing a superb finish seven minutes into the second half.
“What a goal he scored, it’s unbelievable,” Dooley said.
Asked whether Farhaan’s effort was among the best goals he had witnessed during his coaching career, Dooley was unequivocal in his praise.
“Yeah, absolutely. It was really amazing how he dribbled through those three or four guys, and then the shot was also very difficult and it was beautiful,” he said.
The coach also highlighted the quality of the other goals, including Hamza’s second-half involvement in the attacking moves and Rakib’s late strike.
“You can imagine if Hamza’s backheel pass goes in, what kind of goals we had today. Rakib, this is a beautiful goal. So, no, I like overall, from the first until the last minute, we actually can be happy and proud of the players,” he added.
However, the convincing victory came with a concern for Bangladesh, as Dooley revealed that midfielder Saad Uddin had picked up an injury that could rule him out for the remainder of the tournament.
“The bad part is that Saad is injured and maybe he can’t play anymore,” the coach said.
Bangladesh will now face Pakistan in the second semi-final on Saturday, while India and Bhutan meet in the other last-four encounter at the same venue.