Bangladesh kicked off their SAFF Bangabandhu Championship 2023 campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Lebanon at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, India Thursday.
Both goals came at the latter stage of the game after Bangladesh held the strongest side of Group B till the 79th minute.
The difference between the two teams in the latest FIFA rankings is 93 but Bangladesh did not let it be much of a factor until the 79th minute when substitute Hassan Maatouk broke the deadlock from a defensive blunder.
Center-back Tariq Kazi allowed Karim Darwich to snatch the ball away from him and looked on helplessly as two opponent forwards including Hassan went up against goalkeeper Anisur Rahamn Zico and found the back of the net with ease.
The lead doubled during the final moments of six-minute stoppage time when the unmarked Khalil Bader smashed into massive gap following a cutback from Zein Al Abidine Farran.
“We conceded two goals in the crucial minutes. Before that we played well against a side who are 90 (93) places above us. We conceded a goal from our mistake but it was part of the game. It's bad luck,” said Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuiyan in the post-match presentation.
Earlier, Javier Cabrera made a couple of changes from the squad that beat Cambodia last week with Topu Barman returning to the heart of defence and Isa Faysal at left-back.
Jamal had the first shot on target in the 22nd minute but his grounder from outside the box went straight to Lebanon keeper Ali Sabeh.
Zico made a couple of fine saves at the half hour mark before Ali produced a diving save to parry away Foysal Ahmed Fahim's close-range effort for a corner before the break.
Lebanese coach made three substitutions when the game resumed, along with some tactical changes, but it did not trouble Bangladesh much.
Cabrera also changed his attacking set-up with a triple change before the hour mark as Rabiul Hasan, Sheikh Morsalin and Mohammad Ridoy came in while Jamal was left out.
Fahim had a golden opportunity to take the lead at the hour mark when he collected the ball from Mohammad Sohel Rana and broke into the box but could not beat the netminder in a one-on-one scenario.
Bangladesh made more movements in the opposition's territory compared to the first half but the defence could not maintain the same momentum as they ended up beginning the campaign empty-handed.
The men in red and green will face the Maldives this Sunday before concluding their group phase fixtures against Bhutan three days later.
Bangladesh starting XI: Anisur Rahman Zico, Isa Faysal, Topu Barman, Kazi Tariq Raihan, Bishwanath Ghosh, Jamal Bhuiyan, Sohel Rana, Mohammad Sohel Rana, Mojibur Rahman Jony, Foysal Ahmed Fahim, Suman Reza
Substitutes: Mohammad Ridoy, Sheikh Morsalin and Rabiul Hasan (57), Rakib Hossain (74), Rafiqul Islam (87)
RESULT
Lebanon 2 (Hassan 79, Khalil 90+6) Bangladesh 0
