Bangladesh lose 5-1 to Syria in AFC U-17 qualifiers opener

Bangladesh have made a heavy losing start to the AFC U-17 Championship qualifiers, going down 5-1 to Syria in their opening group match.

The qualifiers are being played in the United Arab Emirates. Bangladesh are in Group C, alongside hosts UAE, Syria, Macau and Bhutan.

Only the champions of the seven groups will qualify for the final round in Uzbekistan next year. Losing the first match by such a big margin has made it very difficult for Bangladesh to finish as group champions.

Meanwhile, the SAFF tournament is under way in Dhaka. While Hamza and Jamal lead the senior side's title mission, the U-17 team is playing the Asian Cup qualifiers in the UAE.

In the past, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) did not arrange much preparation before junior tournaments. This year, the BFF committee under Tabith Awal arranged major preparations for both the women's and men's teams ahead of their AFC tournaments.

The women's team was sent to Jordan before their AFC tournament. The men's U-17 team also played several matches in Jordan ahead of the qualifiers.

Dutch coach Lodewijk de Kruif, who coaches the senior national team, has been put in charge of the U-17 side. Despite an experienced coach and all that preparation, the first match produced such a poor result.

The match could hardly be watched live from Bangladesh. About an hour had passed since the match ended, yet the BFF had still not officially shared any information with the media.

The BFF posted only a Facebook post about the result. The media department has two regular staff members, and one person has gone to the UAE with the U-17 team officially in charge of media.

Even so, journalists had received no photos and no match result by the time this report was written. The coach's explanation is a far more distant matter.