Bangladesh is one of two South Asian teams, the other being India, to have participated in the AFC Asian Cup. They qualified for the main phase of the tournament successfully on their first attempt during the 1980 AFC Asian Cup held in Kuwait. They failed to win any of their four games during the tournament, with Kazi Salahuddin and Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu being the only goal scorers for Bangladesh in the competition. To date, this remains the nation's only appearance in the Match
The county's first opposition was Asian giants North Korea. Regardless of coming into the game as huge underdogs, the team played attacking football against the Koreans. Bangladesh conceded in the 44th and 45th minutes of the match, both due to defensive blunders. Despite the letdown, the team kept on pressing and following a quick counter attack after winning the ball back from the Korean defense, Bangladesh earned a penalty. Kazi Salahuddin converted the penalty in the 60th minute to score the country's first ever major tournament goal.[1] However, the Koreans did not let the celebrations last long, scoring again in the 88th minute after goalkeeper Pintu spilled the ball, leaving the net empty. In the 90th minute a curling effort from Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu made the final score 3–2. In their second game three days later against Syria, Bangladesh suffered a 1–0 defeat, with Jamal Keshek scoring the only goal.[2]
In their third game, Bangladesh were thrashed 7–0 by defending champions Iran. Within 35 minutes into the game, Bangladesh fell 3 goal behind. Their plan of taking Iran head-on failed as their opponents dominated in midfield during the first half. In the second half, the opposition's constant attacking pressure led to Behtash Fariba scoring from a corner in the 80th minute. Iran scored again within 2 minutes of the restart when Fariba again found the net from close range, subsequently completing his quadruple of goals. The last match of the group-stage saw Bangladesh concede 6 against China. Hat-tricks from Shen Xiangfu and Xu Yonglai ended the nation's AFC campaign on a disappointing note. Despite not winning a single game in the competition, Bangladesh's on-field performances were fairly satisfactory, especially considering it was their first major tournament appearance, just four years after the founding of the Bangladesh Football Federation.[3]
Mahmud, Dulal (20 September 2020). ফুটবলার আসলামের আসলাম হয়ে ওঠার গল্প[The story of footballer Aslam's journey of becoming Aslam]. khulnagazette.com (in Bengali). Khulna, Bangladesh: খুলনা গেজেট. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
1 Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under other name(s). 2 Israel was a member of the AFC until 1974. 3 Recognized by FIFA as defunct.
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