Bangladesh taste 4-0 loss against Lebanon to end 2026 WC qualifiers campaign

Bangladesh ended their FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign on a sour note after suffering a 4-0 defeat against Lebanon at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan City of Qatar on Tuesday.

Captain Hassan Maatouk slotted a hat-trick in his farewell game to give Lebanon maiden victory in the qualifiers, as well as showing Bangladesh why Lebanon are 64 places ahead of Bangladesh in FIFA Ranking.   

The defeat saw Bangladesh finish at the bottom of four-team group with a single point from six matches, during which the men in red and green conceded 20 goals and struck only one goal. Lebanon, on the other hand, failed to progress to the next round despite the win as their six points remained two shy of second-placed Palestine's tally. 

The charges of Spanish coach Javier Cabrera have been humiliated in all three away matches -- against group leaders Australia (7-0), Palestine (5-0) and this time against Lebanon (4-0) – a stark contrast to their three home matches in which they conceded only four goals. Bangladesh's scored their only goal when they played out a 1-1 draw against Lebanon in Dhaka in November last year, courtesy of Sheikh Morsalin.     

Another unfruitful campaign in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers meant Bangladesh remained winless in the group stage of World Cup Qualifiers for last 23 years since they beat Mongolia 3-0 in 2001. However, Bangladesh notched up two wins -- against Pakistan and Lebanon at home in 2011 during the play-off and pre-qualifiers of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, respectively.

With a target to secure at least one points against Lebanon, Spanish coach Javier Cabrera brought two changes in the squad that suffered a 2-0 defeat to Australia on June 6 by drafting defender Shakil Hossain in place of Mehedi Hasan and Jamal Bhuiyan in place of Sohel Rana Jr as well as retained the strategy he used against Australia by deploying five defenders, three midfielders and two forwards.

Bangladesh starting lineup. Photo: BFF

His formation did not work against Lebanon, thanks to the sloppiness of the five-man backline which was responsible in conceding the lead in the very fifth minute.

Having survived a scary back-pass from Tariq Raihan Kazi in the very first minute, stopper Shakil made an unnecessary foul inside the box as he slapped an opponent during a corner kick. As a result, Malaysian referee Razlan Joffri Ali awarded a penalty to Lebanon, with Maatouk sending goalkeeper Mitul Marma on the wrong side to convert from the spot.

Bangladesh created some sporadic attacks in the first half through winger Rakib Hossain but they conceded the second goal in the stoppage time of the first half as Nadder Matar smashed a powerful shot after receiving a Nassar cross in between defenders Tapu Barman and Shakil Hossain.

After resumption, Hassan Matouk, availing a cutback from Karin Darwich, widened the margin to 3-0 with a clever strike in the 49th minute before he completed a hat-trick in the 60th minute, finding the net with a powerful angular shot to make his farewell match a memorable one.