More often than not, a guilt-ridden Rakib Hossain watched a particular footage of the 2021 SAFF Championship whenever he recalled that event. The Bangladesh winger had always taken the blame for his unforced error that evaporated Bangladesh's chance to play in the final.

Against Nepal in the 79th minute, Rakib paid the price for letting nerves get the better of him; for playing too safe. To cut back a long pass from oppositions' half was unwarranted, with the game delicately poised at that stage. A harmless situation culminated to a disaster in a matter of seconds: goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico was forced to hand the ball outside the D-box to prevent a certain goal. With Zico penalised, a 10-man Bangladesh could only resist up until the dying minutes of the match before Nepal struck the dreaded equaliser.

Since then, Rakib has vastly improved, having played in the domestic leagues for country's top two outfits – Abahani and Bashundhara Kings – under Mario Lemos and Oscar Bruzon in the last two seasons. He has been successful in transforming his domestic performance into international matches. Carrying that 2021 regret to 2023 SAFF Championship, Rakib redeemed himself to help Bangladesh reach semifinals after 14 years with back-to-back strikes against Maldives and Bhutan.

Photo: BFF

Rakib's participation in the ongoing tournament had been uncertain following a hamstring injury on his right leg. For two weeks, he could not partake when the team trained with the ball. Against Lebanon he featured for the last 20 minutes but Rakib was unsure whether he could make any pacey runs -- which is his primary strength. Eventually, however, he was able to race down the left-flank to create a good opportunity for Rafiqul Islam.

The equaliser did not arrive but the move gave Rakib the confidence to believe in his natural abilities and, in the games after, everyone saw what he did against Maldives and Bhutan.

"We played really well in the 2021 SAFF Championship and we could have played the final if I did not make that mistake," Rakib told The Daily Star.

Photo: BFF

"Of course, that incident worked inside me before coming into this SAFF Championship. I have been determined not to repeat such mistakes and do something good for the national team."

Asked to compare the performance of two SAFF campaigns, the 24-year-old said, "We were nervous in my first SAFF Championship in Maldives where I made a few mistakes. There were some problems and the club coaches worked on to get me out of those problems. I think I have been having a good time in the tournament because I toiled hard."

"After sustaining a muscle-tear injury back in Bangladesh during the training session [on June7], I did not think that I could play this SAFF Championship. But the coach and other coaching staff banked on me heavily. The physio helped me a lot to be fit for the match against Maldives after keeping me out in the FIFA-friendly match against Cambodia," Rakib recalled his struggle to recover fitness for the campaign.

In absence of a genuine striker, not only has he been scoring but also assisting others. Rakib credits the whole team for the six goals Bangladesh scored in three games this edition.

"I think the credit of scoring goals goes to the whole team because we are working hard together and I could not have scored without the support.

His chemistry with Sheikh Morsalin up front has also been refreshing for Bangladesh.

"Sheikh Morsalin is my teammate at Bashundhara Kings and we share a good understanding. If you look back in the last two matches, he assisted me and I assisted him and the understanding between us was made at the club level."

Photo: BFF

The lad from Barishal, who has no football academy background, possesses the firepower to run down the flanks but he once had struggled to control the ball on the run. But once Rakib improved on that aspect, he was a cut above the rest in the domestic circuit.

"Of course, speed is my strength but I have to improve on scoring goals because I do hurry inside the box due to nervousness.

"There is no alternative to hard work in football. I always try to do as per the coaches' instructions. Besides, I also try to give additional time to the gym. To be honest, I have brought myself in a systematic way in my personal life and am getting results from it now."

Rakib also believes the individual characters are gradually developing in the Bangladesh team as new players arrive on the scene.

Although Lebanon and India have been considered the top favourites in the championship, Kuwait have already shown that they can be tagged as the toughest side of the tournament. Rakib and his teammates dream of crossing the hurdles of Kuwait on Saturday in the tournament's first semi-final fixture.

"We have confidence to perform well against Kuwait. Because it is not a group-stage match but the semi-finals, everyone will want to write their names in history. By reaching the final, I also want to be part of that history of Bangladesh."