Sports Desk

Bangladesh kept their word to perform their best against Australia at their favorite venue Bashundhara Kings Arena despite losing the second-leg match the joint qualifiers (round 2) of FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 by 0-2 goals on Thursday.

The men in red and green suffered a fatal 0-7 goals defeat to Socceroos in their first-leg match of the four-team Group I in Melbourne in November, even they had been previously beaten by their mighty

In comparison to their previous three performances, Javier Cabrera’s men displayed the better performance in front of their home crowd on this day with compact defense, better ball possession as well as winning a lot of dual-winners and creating some very close attempts in the opponents’ box.

After keeping physically superior Socceroos at bay for the first 28-minute of the first half, the hosts conceded the first goal while defender Mehedi Hasan Mithu unluckily deflected a speculative long-range ball by midfielder Ajdin Hrustic, off a pass from debutant forward Nestory Irankunda, into his own net in the 30th minute.

Before the breakthrough, the men in red and green goalkeeper Mitul Marma and defenders defended to frustrate Australia with some good saves inside the box, on the contrary their key forwards Rakib Hossain and Shekh Morsalin created a chance each from counter attacks.

Socceroos confirmed their victory while forward Kusini Yengi headed the ball into the right direction, off a perfect long cross from defender Jordan Bos, in the 63rd minute of the second half. The forward was also awarded as man of the match as he scored the lone goal for Socceroos.