Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley praised his players' fighting spirit and adaptability after they secured a historic 2-1 victory over hosts San Marino in an international friendly, describing the result as a "great start" to his tenure.
Defender Topu Barman scored a brace, including a late winner, as Bangladesh recorded their first-ever victory against a European opponent on European soil at the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle on Friday.
The fixture marked the first meeting between the two nations and also served as Dooley's debut match in charge of the Bangladesh national team.
"First of all, I'm obviously happy about the outcome," said Dooley after the match.
The German-American coach admitted he had expected a difficult challenge despite San Marino's low FIFA ranking, highlighting the quality of opposition the European side regularly face.
"I said a couple of days ago that the ranking doesn't reflect the quality of the team when you play in Europe and always have to face incredibly strong teams like Germany and Italy," he said.
"We looked at the results they had against teams ranked 22nd, 37th, 42nd, 76th and 120th in the world, and the results were pretty good. That was something I was a little bit scared of."
Dooley noted that San Marino's physical approach tested Bangladesh throughout the encounter.
"We saw that it's a physical team. They are good in the air and strong in body contact. We have a bit of a disadvantage physically, but we also have better speed. We relied on playing football, using the space and taking our chances when they came," he said.
The coach was particularly pleased with how quickly the squad adapted despite having limited preparation time.
"We worked together for maybe 10 days maximum, and some important players joined only in the last few days. They didn't fully understand exactly what we wanted to do," said Dooley.
"We struggled in the first five or 10 minutes, which is normal when you play in a different country and against a different style. But then we started playing football, used our speed and created chances. Overall, I'm very pleased with the performance."
Dooley, however, stressed that there remains significant room for improvement ahead of future assignments.
"The weakness is that we still need too many chances to score goals. Our first touch is off sometimes, and we lost some simple balls while playing out from the back, and that's a no-go," he said.
"I told the players from the beginning that we need to make the basics perfect - passing and receiving. But these are things that can be changed in a short time."
The 64-year-old revealed that avoiding defeat had been his minimum target.
"For me, the most important thing was that we didn't lose today. A draw would have been good, but victory is obviously better for every player," he said.
"Now we can analyse the game and go deeper into the mistakes we made. They are easy to fix. We have to change the way we think, then the way we train, and then the way we play."
Dooley also reserved special praise for midfielder Hamza Choudhury, who made a major impact in the victory.
"Hamza is our best player. He thinks faster, he's physically stronger and technically better. That's why he plays in England," said Dooley.
"He's a leader. I saw how he was in the dressing room, how he talked to everyone before and during the game. He's an absolutely top player. When things get tight, we can rely on him to do something special. He makes us 20 to 30 per cent better."
The Bangladesh coach was equally impressed by the support from expatriate fans, with thousands travelling from across Europe to witness the country's first match on European soil.
"We had around 4,000 people here coming from all over Europe just to watch the game. We told the players before the match, 'Let's make them happy and give them a result they can celebrate,'" he said.
"The passion for football in Bangladesh is unbelievable.
"We fight for the fans and try to make them happy. We are not Germany or Italy, but we do everything we can. This is a great start."
