'Bangladesh were superior': Cabrera proud despite loss to Singapore

Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera cut a proud yet frustrated figure after his side’s AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat to Singapore on Tuesday, insisting his team deserved more from what he described as their best performance.

“It was a very difficult result to digest,” Cabrera said after the match at the National Stadium in Kallang. “It was probably our best performance. So definitely, I think we deserved to win or at least a point.”

The Spaniard praised his players for their effort and control throughout the match, despite falling to a first-half strike from Singapore’s Harhys Stewart.

“I’m very proud of the players, which is the main thing. It is important to me how we lose sometimes, and the way we lost, we can be proud of the team’s performance. We dominated the whole match on and off the ball.”

The decisive moment came in the 30th minute when Stewart capitalised on a rebound to score from close range, leaving Bangladesh chasing the game.

Despite a sluggish first half, Bangladesh created openings. Shamit Shome headed wide from a Saad Uddin cross early on, while Sheikh Morsalin saw an effort blocked inside the box before the break.

After the restart, Bangladesh showed greater urgency and control. Hamza Choudhury came close in the 75th minute, his effort narrowly missing the far post, before the visitors were denied by the woodwork moments later.

In the 79th minute, substitute Mirajul Islam produced Bangladesh’s best chance, meeting a curling delivery from Hamza, only to see his deft flick strike the post.

Bangladesh, who finished third in Group C with five points, ended the campaign behind Singapore and Hong Kong but ahead of India. Despite the modest return, Cabrera insisted the standings did not reflect his team’s performances.

“We haven’t been worse than any team. I think we have been better than many of our rivals in all the games, but we just finished with five points. That is the reality,” he said. “There is no doubt that Singapore deserve to be in the Asian Cup, but there is also no doubt that Bangladesh were superior today.”

The coach also pointed to a lack of cutting edge as the difference, with Bangladesh unable to capitalise on their dominance, including a late chance that struck the woodwork.

“Singapore have that capacity to get one chance and score with that chance,” Cabrera noted. “If the team improves in that area, probably next year we will be seeing Bangladesh 20-30 places above in the FIFA rankings.”

With his contract set to expire next month, Cabrera remained non-committal about his future but emphasised the need for continuity and faith in the current group.

“Whoever is in charge is not the important thing,” he said. “It’s important to make the right decision and to look at the team with some perspective. The progression is there. What perhaps has been missing with myself in charge is more positive results.

“I think the federation has to trust this bunch of players and keep promoting young players; some of them are doing well in the SAFF Under-20 Championship. And soon we will be able to win these kind of matches that we were not able to win today.”