Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera expressed pride in his team’s spirit and performance despite suffering a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat against Hong Kong, China in their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match at the National Stadium on Thursday.
Bangladesh took an early lead but later conceded multiple goals before fighting back to level the score at 3-3. However, a last-minute strike by Hong Kong’s French-born substitute forward Raphael Marques, who scored a hat-trick, sealed the visitors’ victory. The other goal for Hong Kong, China came from Brazilian-born Everton Camargo, while Bangladesh’s scorers were Hamza Choudhury, Sheikh Morsalin, and Shamit Shome.
Reflecting on the intense contest, Cabrera admitted the match had a difficult start but praised his players for their adaptation and resilience.
“The beginning was tough. It took us about five minutes to settle and do what we wanted. But after those few minutes, I think we played an excellent first half – perhaps the best first half I’ve seen from Bangladesh in my coaching career. Unfortunately, an unnecessary mistake at the end cost us the equaliser,” said Cabrera.
The coach acknowledged Hong Kong, China’s dominance early in the second half but credited his players for fighting their way back into the game.
“They were better than us for the first 20-25 minutes of the second half. Then we made some changes and came back with confidence, energy, and the right attitude. We got back to 3-3, but that last, very unlucky goal took the game away from us. Still, I’m proud of the boys — their mentality, playing style, and performance. Now, we have to support them and prepare for the second match.”
When asked about Bangladesh’s defensive lapses, Cabrera refused to blame only the backline.
“No, I wouldn’t say we lost just because of the defenders. We knew Hong Kong, China’s attack was strong, and we controlled them well for large parts of the match. But with their quality, goals can happen. The defensive errors were not only on the defenders — the whole team was involved in those moments. We need to be more aggressive and keep believing. That’s the only way forward.”
Addressing questions about leadership in defense, especially in the absence of experienced defender Topu Barman, Cabrera clarified that the issues were not about leadership but individual mistakes.
“Jamal [Bhuyan] isn’t typically our defensive leader — in that sense, maybe we missed Topu. But we did a lot of defensive work well. Two of the goals came from unfortunate errors, not from lack of leadership. We must fix those mistakes because we can’t afford them if we want to move to the next stage.”
Despite the loss, Cabrera emphasized the positives: Bangladesh fought back from 3-1 down, showing resilience and attacking intent before the late heartbreak.
“We came back to 3-3, but again, that last mistake cost us. Now it’s done — we move forward and focus on the next match,” Cabrera concluded.
Courtesy: The Daily Sun
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
