Bangladesh finished Group ‘A’ winners after a 3-0 rout of Bhutan in the Saff U-15 Championship at the Anfa Complex in Satdobato on Tuesday. 

In a clash between the teams that had already secured places in the semi-finals, Md Miraj Molla struck two second half goals for Bangladesh after Md Foysal Ahmed Fahim had put them ahead with an early goal. The result meant Bangladesh finished on top with maximum six points and Bhutan in second with three points in the three-team pool. 

Sri Lanka had already crashed out with back to back defeats. Bangladesh will play the runners-up of Group ‘B’, while Bhutan will meet against the winners of that pool. Both Nepal and India have already secured the passage to the last four but they meet on Wednesday to determine the pool winners.

Bangladesh coach Mostafa Anwar Parvez was happy with his team’s performance but said they still have room for improvement, especially from forwards. “Our strikers wasted too many scoring chances and we need to improve on that in our next match,” said Parvez.

The physically superior Bangladeshi outfits took time to get into match and consistently put pressure on the opponents. Their pressure finally told in the 25th minute when Fahim struck for the defending champions. 

They almost doubled their tally in the first half injury time when Mohammad Raja Sheikh found the woodwork. Bangladesh doubled their lead seven minutes into second half when Molla converted from a powerfully struck header from inside the area following a right wing cross from Shadin. Molla completed the rout adding his second goal in the 81st with a low drive from close range. 

Bhutan were unable to create any meaningful move throughout the game and their Japanese coach Songjun Lee said Bangladesh took huge advantage of their strong physique. “As much as their class, they also outmuscled us,” said Lee adding that he prefers to get Nepal as their semi-final opponents rather than India.