Bangladesh endured a disastrous conclusion to their FIFA ASEAN Cup campaign, suffering a heavy 9-2 defeat against tournament hosts Indonesia. Thomas Dooley’s side exited the competition after losing all three of their group-stage fixtures, having conceded four goals across their opening two matches before the ultimate collapse in Jakarta.
The tournament had begun on a difficult note for Jamal Bhuyan, Hamza Choudhury, and their teammates with a 3-0 defeat against Malaysia. Although they displayed an improved performance in their second outing against Singapore, they still slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat. Heading into the final fixture, the objective was to salvage pride by securing a positive result against Indonesia.
While the match started in an organized fashion, Bangladesh steadily lost control as the contest progressed. The hosts broke the deadlock in the 11th minute when Ole Romeny set up Ole Romeny, allowing Le Becker to open the scoring. Just nine minutes later, Becker struck again to double Indonesia’s lead. Before another twelve minutes had elapsed, Rizky Ridho provided the build-up for the home side’s third goal.
A brief glimmer of hope emerged in the 36th minute when Shahriar Emon headed home from a cross delivered by Sukir to narrow the deficit. However, that relief proved short-lived. In the very next minute, Becker completed his hat-trick by netting his third goal of the night, pushing Indonesia ahead at 4-1.
The defensive woes deepened toward the end of the first half. Becker notched his fourth goal in the 42nd minute, and Hubner added a sixth during stoppage time. Consequently, Bangladesh went into the half-time interval trailing 6-1. The second half brought no respite as the hosts continued to exploit defensive gaps, eventually sealing a comprehensive 9-2 victory.
