Bangladesh miss opportunity against 10-men Hong Kong, China

The resistance was finally broken in the 36th minute. Attempting to control the ball inside the box, Kazi Tariq Raihan made a mess of it and ended up conceding a foul. Hong Kong, China capitalised on the resulting penalty to take the lead. Rakib Hossain's late goal brought Bangladesh level and made the contest exciting again, but Javier Cabrera's men ultimately fell short of clinching victory.

At the Kai Tak Stadium on Tuesday, the return leg of the Asian Cup Qualifiers' third-round match ended in a 1–1 draw. In the first leg last Thursday at the National Stadium in Paltan, Bangladesh had lost 4–3 to Hong Kong, China.

Bangladesh now sit at the bottom of Group C with two points, while Hong Kong, China top the table with eight. To keep their qualification hopes alive, Bangladesh desperately needed a win in the return leg. Although the team showed resilience and staged a late comeback, they couldn't turn it into a full triumph.

Cabrera's starting XI for the second leg included Zayan Ahmed, Shomith Shom, and Tapu Barman. Bangladesh began the game with a defensive setup focused on maintaining solidity. Though Hong Kong, China made a few probing runs, they failed to seriously test goalkeeper Mitul Marma.

In the 22nd minute, Shomith burst forward with impressive pace before being pulled down from behind by a Hong Kong, China defender. From just outside the box, Hamza's free-kick deflected off the defensive wall and went out of play.

Disaster struck in the 36th minute when Tariq miscontrolled a teammate's pass, his heavy touch taking the ball away from him. As he slipped while trying to recover, he fouled Fernando Pereira inside the box. The referee immediately pointed to the spot, and Matt Orr calmly sent Mitul the wrong way to put Hong Kong, China ahead.

Bangladesh narrowly avoided further trouble in the 44th minute when Mitul failed to collect a cross cleanly, but a defender cleared the danger just in time.

In added time of the first half, Sad Uddin's cross was headed by Hamza towards Shomith inside the box, but before the Canada-based midfielder could control it, Ngân Cheuk Pan intervened to clear the ball.

Coach Cabrera made two substitutions in the 64th minute, bringing on Jamal Bhuyan and Fahamidu Islam in place of Zayan and Sohel Rana. Three minutes later, Fahamidu's powerful shot went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 79th minute, Faisal Ahmed Fahim replaced Morsalin.

Hong Kong, China suffered a major setback in the 75th minute when defender Oliver Gerbig was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. Eight minutes later, Bangladesh found the equaliser they were searching for. From the left flank, Fahim's cross was headed by Fahamidu into Rakib's path, and the forward struck home with precision.

Bangladesh pushed for a winner but couldn't find the decisive goal. In the end, they returned from the opponent's ground with the satisfaction of earning a point — though it felt like a missed opportunity for Cabrera's side.