Bangladesh earned their first point in the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Guam in their second match of Group A at the Lach Tray Stadium, Hai Phong, Vietnam, on Monday.
Forward Mirajul Islam gave Bangladesh the lead in the sixth minute of the match before midfielder Shuntaro Suzuki equalised for Guam in the 75th minute through penalty.
Bangladesh captain Ashraful Haque Asif committed a handball while trying to tackle forward Curtis Harmon inside the box, and the referee had no hesitation to award a spot kick to Guam.
Super-sub Moinul Islam made it 2-1 for Bangladesh in the 87th minute, and just when it appeared that Maruful Haque鈥檚 team would take all three points, midfielder Jason Castro scored a last-gasp equaliser in the fourth minute of stoppage time for Guam.
Bangladesh coach Maruful blamed his team鈥檚 mentality of taking their opponents lightly and trying to be too individualistic behind the result.
鈥楢fter taking the lead, our players shifted their focus on their individual performances. They also took the opponent team lightly. They repeated the same mistakes in the second half as well,鈥� said Maruful after the match.
Bangladesh lost 4-0 to table-toppers Syria in their opening game and will take on against hosts Vietnam and Bhutan on September 27 and 29, respectively.
After Monday鈥檚 result, Bangladesh were in fourth place in the five-team group with one point, while Guam had two points from two games after drawing 1-1 with Bhutan in their first match.