Before leaving the country to play in the FIFA Asian Cup, Hamza Chowdhury said, “We did not come to fear anyone.” However, Bangladesh faced reality when they came to play in the tournament. Hamza, Jamal, and Samita were the first to exit the tournament after losing 3-0 to Malaysia and 1-0 to Singapore in the first two group stage matches. This time, Thomas Dooley’s team lost 9-2 to host Indonesia in the last group stage match. Indonesia came with many plans, while Bangladesh had no plans.
Even when playing a big tournament like the ASEAN Cup, the BFF officials only had the goal of winning. This is what the officials said in interviews with the media during the tournament. However, if India had not withdrawn its name, Bangladesh would never have had the opportunity to play in the ASEAN Cup. When playing in a FIFA tournament, any other country would have wanted to achieve something good and return home. They would have thought about their own football achievements, while Bangladesh returned home with its head bowed.
Bangladesh played chaotic football from the start of the match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. Bangladesh was disorganised against Indonesia’s organised and fast-paced game. A series of wrong passes, lack of understanding among themselves and the weakness of the defence ultimately led to a big loss. The hosts sent the ball into Bangladesh’s net for the first time in the 11th minute of the match. Le Becker scored from a pass by Ole Romeni. He doubled the lead with his second goal in the 20th minute. Indonesia’s third goal came in the 32nd minute from a pass by Rizki Rido. Four Bangladeshi defenders could not prevent the ball from going into the net even from close range. However, Bangladesh regained some relief by scoring a goal in the 36th minute. Shahriar Emon headed in a cross from Suqi. But that relief did not last. Le Becker completed his hat-trick with his third goal a minute later. He then scored his fourth goal in the 42nd minute. Indonesia led 6-1 in the first half with Habner’s goal in added time.
In the second half, Bangladesh played some organised football, but Indonesia’s attacking edge did not decrease. Despite launching one attack after another, the hosts were unable to see the desired goal. However, Bangladesh conceded another goal with one minute left in the scheduled time. Then, in extra time, Farhan Ali reduced the gap by putting the ball in Indonesia’s net. Farhan put the ball into the net with great placement after receiving Rakib’s cross. After that, the players of both teams got into a fight. Two Indonesian footballers saw yellow cards. However, the hosts scored two more times before the final whistle. Mitchell Baker scored his fourth goal of the match. As a result, Bangladesh ended the ASEAN Cup with a 9-2 defeat, which is one of the biggest defeats in the country’s football. Before that, Bangladesh lost to South Korea 9-0 in 1979, to Iran 9-0 in 1982, and to Hong Kong 9-1 in 1985.
After the last two generations, Bangladesh has seen such a bad defeat again. Yet, the BFF dreams of playing the World Cup with local and origin footballers. There is a huge gap between the federation’s dream and reality. Bangladesh conceded a total of 13 goals in three matches in the entire ASEAN Cup. On the contrary, Bangladesh scored two goals against Indonesia, which is the only achievement worth mentioning for Bangladesh in the ASEAN Cup.
