Like striker Nabib Newaj Jibon in the previous game, defender Yeasin Khan, one of the most experienced faces in the youth dominated current Bangladesh backline, also found the back of the net after more than three years.
The 25-year old was a delighted man after his first ever international brace downed Bhutan 2-0 Thursday in the second and final Fifa friendly.
Yeasin was once considered arguably the best center-back of the country.
He scored his last international goal against Sri Lanka during the Bangabandhu Gold Cup 2016.
Nabib Newaj netted a brace as Bangladesh warmed up for their 2022 World Cup qualifying on a bright note, clinching a 4-1 win over Bhutan in the first of two international friendlies on the muddy pitch of Bangabandhu National Stadium Sunday evening.https://t.co/vzbGKqSl9O#BFF
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 29, 2019
His career saw ups and down since then, with his nadir points being the six-month ban in the domestic league and the season-long injury at Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club.
He finally found his form back after returning to Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra last season.
The long-time injury of first-choice defender Topu Barman cemented his place in the national team where he has to partner some young faces like Rahmat Mia, Riyadul Hasan Rafi and Bishwanath Ghosh and the recently injured Tutul Hossain Badshah.
“It feels great to score after a long time. I want to keep up the consistency,” said Yeasin after the game.
The residential training camp of the national team ahead of the Qatar and India qualifiers started Wednesday with the absence of Bashundhara Kings’ midfielder Masuk Mia Jony, who has been ruled out from competitive fixtures this year.https://t.co/tit8nqDtJ1#BFF #FOOTBALL #JONY
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 25, 2019
He added, “Everyone in defence is young. I have been seeing them for quite a while. They will do better if given more time.”
Head coach Jamie Day seemed to have liked the prospect of Yeasin getting involved in the opponent’s box during the set-pieces.
Sitting beside Thursday's hero, the English coach was also happy with the performance of the defence line, and the clean-sheet.
But Day believes that they could have performed better in the opening half and scored more.
The 42-year old gave an exclusive interview to @DhakaTribune where he elucidated how a newly-formed squad won double silverware in debut season, and about the Bangladesh team, which he believes have the potential to be among Asia’s top 100.https://t.co/Jn1zBieKrl#BRUZON #BFF
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 27, 2019
“Really pleased with the boys for back-to-back wins and also keeping the clean-sheet. They worked hard to get the wins and it will give them confidence before going to face Qatar. We have a week left to get ready for the tough game ahead. Now we want to focus solely on Qatar,” said Day.
Since Day took charge, Bangladesh played almost all of their games with 4-5-1 (or 4-2-3-1) formation, including Thursday.
Day hinted of changing the system, as well as the formation, next week before facing the Asian champion.
Meanwhile, Bhutan head coach Pema was satisfied with his side’s performance which he termed better than the previous one where they conceded a 4-1 loss.
