Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera said that the men in red and green are still a team that is developing, evolving and is improving.
Cabrera made this comment after they suffered a massive 5-0 goals defeat to Palestine in the first-leg (away) match of the double-leg joint qualifiers (round two) Group I for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 on Thursday night.
“We are still a team that is developing, evolving and it is improving. The first 40 minutes that we have had today, was probably one of the best 40 minutes that we have had since I came here, against a very strong team,” he told the reporters after the match.
“Honestly, for us it’s not about the result… The thing is that why we don’t have the capacity to continue the performance that we have done for 40 minutes, why we made those mistakes in the end, why when we are back in the second half, we are not able to go back to the energy levels that we had in the beginning of the game, that is what we have to analyze,” he added.
Last year, Bangladesh went through some successful campaigns in terms of performance under Cabrera.
They ended the last year on a positive note as they bagged a 1-1 goal draw with upper-ranked opponents Lebanon in their first-leg (home) match of the qualifiers at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in November.
The men in red and green were naturally expecting a positive result against another upper-ranked opponents Palestine in this match that was held at a neutral venue — Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.
Bangladesh equally performed with the lions of Canaan for the first 40-minute of the match, they even created two or three close chances during this time frame.
Rakib Hossain darted into the box in the seventh minute from the left flank and cut it back for Faisal Ahmed Fahim, but the chance wobbled away.
Then, Fahim found space down the left and drilled a cross that went past all defenders in the box to make its way to Md Sohel Rana who had plenty of time and space at the far post, but he skied his first-time finish.
Palestine’s Oday Dabbagh, who scored a hat-trick in the match, broke the deadlock when Mahmoud Abu Warda’s initial strike from the left was saved by Mitul Marma, but spilled into the path of Dabbagh who was perfectly positioned to sweep home the opener for Palestine.
Shihab Qumbor, who scored the rest of two goals for Palestine, made it 2-0 for Palestine just before the halftime, assisted by Abu Warda.
Qumbor picked up where he left off after the restart, adding Palestine’s third goal and doubling his personal tally, off a cross from Musab Al Battat.
After two minutes, Dabbagh connected with a cross from the left side to fire home in an acrobatic style to make it 4-0.
With it, the 25-year-old became his nation’s joint all-time top scorer with his 14th international goal.
Dabbagh completed his hat-trick in the 77th minute when he got on the end of an Oday Kharroub through pass and saw his first attempted finish saved by Mitul, but his was first to the rebound and finished into the net.
“I think we were very competitive in the first 40 minutes of the game, being able to compete face to face with a very strong team like Palestine, but the way we dropped in the end after the first half, at this level. We knew it could happen at some point, playing against Palestine but we shouldn’t have dropped that match at the end of the first half,” said the Bangladesh coach.
“That is the reality, we know that in this group stage, these kinds of things can happen to us. Now it’s time to analyse what has happened and try to find things that we can improve on and adjust and face the next game. There’s no more time to waste thinking about the result of today….,” he further added.
Praising Bangladesh’s tactics, Palestine head coach Makram Daboub said, “The first half of the match was very tough because we didn’t expect that strength that was shown by the Bangladesh team. Actually was a very defensive team, they played very well.”
Concurred coach, Dabbagh said, “We turn this page and now we are thinking about the next match against Bangladesh in Bangladesh. A very tough team and a respectful team and it will be a tough match.”
