Hattrick hero Mirajul wants more for his country

Bangladesh Under-20 national football team has all but confirmed their spot in the final of the U20 SAFF Championships by thrashing Maldives 4-1 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India on Friday.

A repeat heroic performance from striker Mirajul Islam, whose solitary goal was the difference in the first match against Sri Lanka, routed the Maldives in their third match as the young Bangladeshi forward netted a hattrick.

The in-form forward, after his stand-out performance on Friday, said that he was looking forward to the final and wanted to give more to his country by going all the way in the tournament.

“It’s a good feeling that I’ve been able to give something to the country, I want to give more. I am looking forward to the final. We’ve confirmed our place in the final and we can give something to the country it’ll feel really good,” he said.

“Whenever I get on the field, I think about scoring goals and making goals for others as well. I want to give more to my country,” he added.

Bangladesh bagged all nine points from their first three games as they have one foot in the final. A win or a draw will take the boys in red and green through but if Bangladesh lose their final match on August 2, then India and Nepal can equal their tally of nine points, in which case the team with a greater goal difference will go through.

Head coach and technical director of Bangladesh under-20 Paul Smalley praised Mirajul’s hattrick heroics and said that he was pleased with the striker’s application.

“He’s a talented player, a player who needs a little bit of guidance. He needs some game time and then needs to be rested as well. He works very hard and I’m very pleased for him. During the first half, he scored some wonderful goals and created some chances for other players. His application I thought was extremely good,” he said.

Smalley’s men dominated the first half with four goals, with three from Mirajul in the 18th, 21st, and 42nd minutes, while Rafiqul Islam chipped in with a solitary goal in the 32nd minute. But the men in red and green took their foot off the gas in the second, failing to score anymore but conceding a goal in the process.

Despite the riveting first 45 minutes, Smalley pointed out the difference in performance levels between the two halves and admitted that the players had a curb in concentration after leading by four goals.

“I’m certainly very pleased. The objective obviously was to win the game. I thought the first 45 minutes were excellent, with some good performances again. We created lots of chances and stayed nice and resilient when we lost the ball. We worked extremely hard in the first half,” he said.

“In the second half, we were apathetic. We weren’t really focusing on what we discussed at half-time. But we got a few young players in the team and obviously going 4-0 up at halftime, you know sometimes you lose a bit of focus and concentration. But all in all, we certainly got back on our performance and some really excellent performances by our young players,” he added.

Bangladesh will take on Nepal in their last match of the group stage on Tuesday at the same venue.