The Bangladesh Olympic football team secured their second consecutive goalless draw against Afghanistan’s senior national team, ending in a 0-0 stalemate in the Diamond Jubilee International Tournament held in the Maldives on Thursday night.
Having started their campaign with a draw against Pakistan, the Bangladeshi team added another point to their tally, positioning themselves in third place out of the four participating teams with two points from two matches.
Pakistan claimed the top spot on the leaderboard with four points after defeating hosts Maldives 3-0 earlier in the day. Afghanistan also accumulated four points but fell behind Pakistan due to goal difference.
In their upcoming final group match on Sunday, Bangladesh will face Maldives, while Pakistan and Afghanistan are set to clash on the same day. The top two teams in the standings will advance to the final scheduled for Wednesday.
During the game, Afghanistan posed an early threat in the 15th minute with a long-range attempt from veteran forward Omid Popalzay, narrowly missing the crossbar.
Bangladesh gradually gained momentum in the match and had a promising chance in the 26th minute, with Rabbi Hossain Rahul missing the target with a left-footed strike from inside the penalty area.
Rahul continued to be a key attacking player for Bangladesh and had another close opportunity nine minutes later, but his shot was blocked by an Afghan defender near the goal.
Afghanistan came close to scoring just before halftime when Amid Arezou’s powerful header was saved by Bangladesh’s Ismail Hossain on the goal line.
The most significant opportunity in the second half belonged to Bangladesh in the 55th minute when Rahul’s strong shot hit the post with the Afghan goalkeeper beaten.
Both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances as the match progressed. Afghanistan’s last chance came five minutes before the final whistle when Mosawer Ahadi missed a header from close range.
With no breakthrough, Bangladesh remains without a win in the tournament but remains competitive as they head into the final round of matches.
