Bangladesh conceded yet another defeat in the Russia 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers as they were handed a heavy 5-0 defeat by Tajikistan away at the Pamir stadium in Dushanbe yesterday. Tajik forward Manuchekhr Dzhalilov slammed a sensational hattrick to grab all the headlines.
The men in red and green struggled right from the onset in the face of some cold weather in Dushanbe and they took the pitch with a squad that has a very little experience playing in the international level.
The biggest blow for Bangladesh’s Italian head coach Fabio Lopez before the game was the absence of veteran center-back Nasir Uddin Chowdhury due to injury. The Italian opted for a back-four comprising winger Abdul Baten Komol Majumder on the left back position. Nabib Newaj Jibon and Toklis Ahmed Tonmoy started upfront but could not make any impact.
It took the Persian Lions 16 minutes to break the deadlock when Dzhalilov side-volleyed home a low cross from Vasieb Dilshod. An untimely and unnecessary side-tackle from Komol paved the way for the second goal in the 26th minute. Dzhalilov took advantage of Komol’s blunder to break into the box and his shot hit the sidebar before sailing into the net.
Bangladesh had only one chance of note in the first half when captain Mamunul Islam shot over the bar from the penalty area following a Komol cross in the 34th minute.
The home side increased their tempo in the second half and Nazarov Akhtam duly converted a penalty six minutes after resumption when Nasirul Islam Nasir was found guilty for the fall of Dzhalilov inside the box.
Dzhalilov completed his hattrick a minute before the hour mark. Sohel could have done better when Dzhalilov headed down a long cross before sliding it home from only a yard away.
The 25-year-old forward could not stop scoring and netted his fourth goal in the 73rd minute when his header gave no chance to the visiting keeper. It was Dzhalilov’s sixth goal in the qualifiers and made him top scorer from Group B.
Meanwhile in the other match of the group, Asian champions Australia defeated Kyrgyzstan 3-0 to move to the top of the table. Bangladesh remained at the bottom with only a point and will host the Soccerroos this Tuesday at Bangabandhu National Stadium.
