Bangladesh thrashed in Vietnam friendly

Bangladesh suffered a 3-0 defeat to Vietnam in a friendly at Hanoi on Thursday, with early set-piece errors leaving them on the back foot from the start.

Vietnam opened the scoring in the eighth minute, converting a lobbed pass from Tuan Hai off Zayan Ahmed, and doubled their lead in the 18th minute through Do Duy Mahn.

Nguyen Hai Long added a third in the 38th minute after a swift counterattack, effectively ending Bangladesh’s challenge before half-time.

Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury played the entire match despite having trained with the team for just one session.

While he attempted to influence play from midfield, Bangladesh as a unit never looked truly on the front foot, creating only a few sporadic moments of threat.

Foysal Ahmed Fahim and Sohel Rana tested Vietnam’s defence around the 30th minute, but the visitors struggled to string together meaningful attacks.

Bangladesh tried to reorganise in the second half, shifting from a 4-3-3 to a 5-3-2 formation, and generated a few chances through long balls for Shahriar Emon and successive corners aimed at Hamza. 

However, Vietnam remained largely in control, with Rafaelson and Do Hoang Hen coming close to extending the lead.

Goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon made key saves, including stops from Nguyen Hoang Duc and Khuat Van Khang, preventing further damage.

Bangladesh now turns their focus to the AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore in four days, hoping to recover from another disappointing outing.