Bangladesh’s juvenile football squad has continued its historic campaign at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan. The red-and-green team sealed a berth in the Quarter-Finals (Top 8) after overcoming Singapore in a tense penalty shootout victory in the Round of 16.
Playing in Tier E at the Hovsan Competition Complex on Wednesday, the match finished 1–1 at the end of regulation time (40 minutes). In the subsequent penalty shootout, head coach Akbar Hossain Ridon’s side held their nerve to win 4–3, sparking jubilant celebrations.
To reach the Round of 16, Bangladesh was forced through another nerve-shredding penalty shootout earlier the same day in the Round of 32. After a 1–1 tie against Seychelles in regulation, Bangladesh won 4–2 on penalties.
Bangladesh will take on European side Montenegro in the Quarter-Finals. Remarkably, Montenegro also reached the final eight via back-to-back penalty shootouts, defeating Mongolia in the Round of 32 and Hong Kong in the Round of 16.
The landmark FIFA festival features youth teams from 191 nations. Matches are played on reduced pitches (68m length by 48m width) with 8-a-side teams over two 20-minute halves (40 minutes total).
Across 7 total fixtures in Baku, Bangladesh holds a record of 3 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses. After drawing against Wales and Indonesia, losing to Portugal and Burundi, and defeating Fiji 3-1 in Group G, back-to-back knockout victories have propelled Ridon’s team into the World Cup quarter-finals.
