Defender Yeasin Khan slammed a brace as Bangladesh enjoyed their preparation for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Qatar and India in style, beating Bhutan comfortably 2-0 in the second and final Fifa friendly at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka Thursday (Oct 3).
Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra center-back Yeasin Khan headed the men in red and green ahead in the opening half before heading another in the second half to give the home side consecutive wins in the two friendlies after winning the first one 4-1 Sunday at the same venue.
As expectedly, first-choice right-back Bishwanath Ghosh was dropped from the game as he is suspended for the Qatar game due to yellow cards incurred in their internationals against Cambodia and Laos.
Sushanta Tripura replaced him but he too had to leave the pitch early owing to injury and Rayhan Hasan came off the bench to cause the visitor some unexpected threats with his ability to deliver long throw-ins.
Jamie Day made two more changes from the last match by bringing in goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel and forward Rabiul Hasan for Ashraful Islam Rana and Mohammad Ibrahim respectively.
The English head coach made as many as seven substitutes throughout the game.
The host however, suffered an early setback in the seventh minute when Sushanta was forced to leave the pitch and subsequently replaced by Rayhan.
Forward Kabi Raj Rai, one of two changes in the Bhutan XI, had the first shot on target in the 13th minute but Sohel was alert to punch away the effort.
Yeasin gave the home side the breakthrough in the 23rd minute, heading home unmarked from the middle of the box following a long Rayhan throw-in.
Nabib Newaj Jibon put up a brilliant effort to connect a Rabiul cross with a flying header but it flew inches over the crossbar at the hour mark.
A minute later, Sohel made another fine save to deny midfielder Dawa Tshering’s grounder from vantage point.
Bangladesh had a glorious chance in the 57th minute when another long Rayhan throw-in caused problems in the Bhutan defence but Jibon’s final effort from close range was cleared off the goalline by defender Lungtok Dawa.
Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, minutes after replacing striker Saad Uddin, broke into the penalty area but his shot was saved by Bhutan keeper Ngawng Jamphel.
Jamal Bhuiyan tried his luck with a powerful strike from 20 yards but Jamphel produced a superb diving save for the cost of a corner.
Moments later, Yeasin doubled the lead with an easier close-range header in the 66th minute after a looping Ibrahim cross from the right side met the defender an inch away from the goalline.
With the fresh bloods coming off the bench, Bangladesh looked more threatening in the attacking third, especially Ibrahim who saw one of his promising efforts from the top of the box denied by the Bhutan custodian in the 84th minute.
Youngster Yeasin Arafat, who just returned home from captaining the U-18 side in the SAFF U-18 Championship in Nepal, made his senior debut as the last substitute five minutes before the end of stipulated time.
Bangladesh will host Asian champion Qatar in their second Group E match in the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup joint qualification at the BNS Thursday, before traveling to Kolkata to play India on Oct 15.