Defending champions Bangladesh smartly reached the semifinal final of the six-nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Men`s Under-19 Championship as the first team beating Bhutan by 3-0 goal in their last Group A match at the Golden Jubilee Stadium, Yupia, in the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday, May 11.

With the day`s feat, Bangladesh dominating the Group A to reach the semifinals securing four points from two group encounters and will play semifinal on May 16.

In Group B, hosts India comfortably dominated group crushing Sri Lanka by 8-0 goal in their first match last Friday.

Bangladesh entered the field on Sunday in a must win situation to qualify for the last four stage after playing 2-2 draw with the Maldives despite of dominating the first half 2-0 goals in the opening match last Friday.

In the day match, Murshed Ali put Bangladesh ahead in the 13th minute by an accurate angular shot from small box that kissed the Bhutan net hitting the side bar (1-0).

Sumon Soren scored the 2nd goal for Bangladesh in the 28th minute by a straight shot from goalmouth melee (2-0)

Bangladesh sealed the fate of the match in the 6th minute of added time (90+6 minute) by a ground shot from the danger zone, utilizing a readymade right-wing pass from teammate (3-0).

In the opening match against the Maldives on Friday, captain Nazmul Huda Faysal and Rifat Kazi scored for Bangladesh, both in the first half

Earlier, Bangladesh team put in Group A of the regional youth soccer meet with Bhutan and the Maldives while hosts India was placed in Group B with Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The top two teams from each of the two groups will play in the semifinals on May 16 while the final match is billed for May 18.

Source: UNB