A brace from Tutul Hossain sent the Under-16 national football team through to the semifinals of the second Under-16 SAFF Football Championship after beating Sri Lanka 3-1 at
the Army Ground in Katmandu, Nepal on Tuesday.
Bangladesh confirmed their semifinal berth in their very first group match, as the third team in the group, India, beat Sri Lanka 4-1 in the opening match on Thursday.
Bangladesh will face India for the top spot in the group at the same ground on Thursday.
Bangladesh skipper Tutul put Bangladesh ahead in the 28th minute with a curling free kick which beat the Sri Lankan keeper.
Sri Lanka equalised just before halftime, as Niresh fired a long range effort into the Bangladesh net.
Tutul put his side ahead again with a header in the 57th minute before Tariqul
Islam increased the margin in the 81st minute to confirm the semifinal berth.
`After the interval, Bangladesh played attacking football and took control of the match and ensured the win,’ team manager Elias Hossain said on the phone.
`We played extraordinary football even though some of the players are suffering various illnesses. Team captain Tutul played especially fine football and helped the team move on to the final,’ he added.
Under-16 national team coach Rene Koster was also satisfied with the performance of his team. According to Elias, the Dutch coach told his players, “You played better football than what we expect from the [senior] national team. You also follow the 4-3-3 formula, which we are trying to use with the national team. I hope you will play like this in the next match against India.’
Meanwhile, Bangladesh complained to the match commissioner on Tuesday about over-age players in the India, Pakistan and Afghanistan teams.
-With New Age input
