A dramatic goal by M Saad Uddin in the dying moment guided Bangladesh to stay in the race playing 1- 1 draw with hosts Maldives in the Asian Qualification Round -1 match of the FIFA World Cup' 2026 at the National Stadium in Male on Thursday.
With the day's precious draw with an away goal, Bangladesh have a fair chance to qualify for the group stage of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers beating the Maldives in the home match on October 17 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka, reports UNB.
The day's match was locked in a goalless position in the first half.
Forward Hassan Nazeem put the host Maldives ahead in the 87th minute by a placing shot, utilizing a lapse of Bangladesh defender Tariq Kazi, brightening their chance to qualify for the next round of the World Cup.
But, Bangladesh's substitute player Mohammad Saad Uddin destroyed the home team party scoring the match equaliser in the very 2nd minute of the added time (90+2 minute) by a placing shot, off a Rakib Hossain pass amid huge frustration of local fans (1-1).
After the goal, Saad Uddin was cautioned with yellow card for removing his Jersey.
Earlier, Foysal Ahmed Fahim of Bangladesh spoiled the golden opportunity to score in the 40th minute of the match as he failed to score with nice gap from the danger zone.
Later, Rakib Hossain also missed a good chance.
Earlier, Bangladesh and Maldives faced each other on 16 times since 1984 where Bangladesh won seven matches against the Maldives six win. The rest three matches ended in draw
In the last meeting, Bangladesh beat the Maldives by 3-1 goals in the last SAFF Championship held in the Indian city of Bengaluru in June this year.
Bangladesh never beat their upper ranked Maldives on their home soil in the last 23 years since 2000 when they played 1-1 draw with the Maldives in the Golden Jubilee Tournament in Male.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
