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 tournament.
Overall Record
YearResultPosition Squad 1956 to 1968Part of Part of 1972Not an AFC memberNot an AFC member 1976 Withdrew Withdrew 1980 Group stage 10th4004217 Squad412178 1984 Did not qualify5104613 1988503219 1992200207 1996 Withdrew Withdrew 2000 Did not qualify4112512 2004201134 20078116219 2011 AFC Challenge Cup 2015 2019120210341 2023 13139627TotalGroup stage1/184004217—555133733140
1980 Asian Cup
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 counterattack 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. 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.
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.
Group A
Record by Opponent AFC Asian Cup matches head-to-head recordOpponentPlayedWinsDrawsLossesGoals for Goals againstGoal differencePoints100123–10100101–10100107–70100106–60Total4004217−150
Goalscorers Player Venue Opponent Score Result Date Edition Goals 1 Kazi Salahuddin Sabah Al Salem Stadium, Kuwait City 1–2 2–3 16 September 1980 1980 1 2 Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu 2–3 2–3
References
Further reading
External links YouTube: Bangladesh v North Korea (1980 AFC Asian Cup) YouTube: Bangladesh v Syria (1980 AFC Asian Cup) YouTube: Bangladesh v Iran (1980 AFC Asian Cup)