This should be Bangladesh's level: Cabrera

Bangladesh came into the SAFF Championship with little hope of making it to the semifinals, a stage they had failed to reach over the past five editions of the regional football extravaganza, and their poor performances in some recent friendlies cast further doubt on their ability to make it out of the group stage.

However, Javier Cabrera's charges exited with their heads held high after putting up brave and consistent performances in all four matches. That self-belief was born in a brave showing in the first match against the tournament's top-ranked side, Lebanon, before being further reinforced by two come-from-behind wins against Maldives and Bhutan.

The team then ensured a lasting impression of their capabilities against Kuwait, who appeared lucky to have found a winner with an extra-time strike.

Cabrera, however, was struggling to accept the loss given the way his team performed over the course of 120 minutes. But he iterated that this should be the standard and the challenge would be to maintain it in the coming days.

Read more

Brilliant Bangladesh go down fighting

"It is tough to accept the defeat. The performance and consistency of the team has absolutely been incredible. They were better today and created chances to qualify for the final," the Spaniard said at the post-match briefing at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

"This should be Bangladesh's level from now on. We should not perform below this level. We have to match this standard. There were tough moments, but I am very proud of the team's performance in the SAFF Championship," the 38-year-old added.

Bangladesh could have taken the lead in the second minute had Sheikh Morsalin not shot straight at the Kuwaiti goalkeeper after getting a square pass from Rakib Hossain, who himself was later denied by the crosspiece and then goalkeeper Abdul Rahman Marzouq.

"We created chances against a team which is the number one team in the tournament. They topped their group and are unbeaten in seven-eight games. Nobody was expecting to do well today, but we were about to qualify for the final. Over the 90 minutes, we had a first-minute chance. We were not able to push them more in the second half, but I don't think they got more chances. There is absolutely nothing to tell to the players except to take positives from the game," added Cabrera, who outshone previous coaches like Nikola Ilievski, Maruful Haque, Lodewjik De Kruif, Jamie Day and Oscar Bruzon by taking Bangladesh to the semifinals of the SAFF Championship.

The coach believed a good mix of senior players and young guns had resulted in the consistent showings, opining one player could not be singled out for praise. Cabrera had picked nearly 10 players who did not play in the 2021 SAFF Championship, some of whom had little international exposure before the regional championship.

The Spaniard added that they had one full training session related to defensive adjustments and the backline showed character, resilience and competence as they foiled Kuwait's forward forays.

"We deserved the win. Maybe the opposing coach will say the same. We made three-four adjustments yesterday and had one session to adjust. It is unbelievable the way they executed. It was amazing. I think we deserved to win, so I am disappointed. But proud of their performance," Cabrera said.