BD U-23s thrashed by Uzbekistan

Bangladesh under-23 team's interim coach Maruful Haque admitted that there is a big difference in quality of the two sides following their 6-0 thrashing by hosts Uzbekistan in their second AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture in Tashkent yesterday.

"There is big difference in technical and tactical areas between the two teams. That is the main reason of the big defeat," Maruful said at the post-match press conference.

Bangladesh, who started the campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Kuwait, conceded four goals within the first 25 minutes before conceding two more in the second half.

The veteran coach said the team got demoralised after conceding early goals. "We started positively but conceded two early goals through silly mistakes. So the players got demoralised."

While this match will not go into calculation of points table as Uzbekistan are guaranteed a place in the finals as hosts, the next one against Saudi Arabia on November 2 will and that will be Bangladesh's last match of the campaign.

Kuwait lead the group with six points from two matches, followed by Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh on zero points from one match each (one match counted). Saudi Arabia were held to a 2-2 draw by Uzbekistan in the match between the two sides.

The top teams in 11 groups and five best runners-up teams will go qualify for the final round to be held in Uzbekistan next year.