Bangladesh national under-20 football team

The Bangladesh national under-20 football team represents Bangladesh in international youth football competitions in SAFF U-20 Championship, AFC U-20 Championship and FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as any other under-20, under-19 & under-18 international football tournaments. The team is operated under the Bangladesh Football Federation.

 Bangladesh U-20
Nickname(s)Bengal Tigers
AssociationBangladesh Football Federation
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachMaruful Haque
CaptainMirajul Islam
Home stadiumBangabandhu National Stadium
First colours
Second colours
First international
Bangladesh  0–2  Philippines
(Kuwait City, Kuwait; 5 April 1975)
Biggest win
Bangladesh  5–0  Maldives
(Malé, Maldives; 29 July 1996)
Biggest defeat
Bangladesh  0–6  India
(Doha, Qatar; 16 October 2002)
Bangladesh  0–6  Iraq
(Dhaka, Bangladesh; 27 October 2011)
Bangladesh  0–6  Iraq
(Abril, Iraq; 8 October 2013)
AFC U-20 Championship
Appearances6 (first in 1975)
Best result5th (1980)
SAFF U-20 Championship
Appearances6 (first in 2015)
Best resultChampions (2024)

They have qualified for the AFC U-20 Championship six previous times and is yet to qualify for FIFA U-20 World Cup. The team taken part in four editions of the SAFF U-20 Championship, and won their maiden title in 2024.[1][2] Since 2022, Bangladesh U-20 began taking part in all stages of the AFC Championship. Previously, the U-19 team participated in the tournament.[3]

History

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1975−2000

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After becoming affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation in 1973, the Bangladesh team were given direct entry into the 1975 AFC Youth Championship & 1977 AFC Youth Championship, although they ended both tournaments without achieving a single victory. The Bangladesh Football Federation however, failed to arrange a regular youth setup as the team did not participate during the 1974 and 1976 editions of the tournament even after acquiring AFC membership.

The 1978 AFC Youth Championship was held in Dhaka, becoming the first major football tournament held in Bangladesh. Coaches Abdur Rahim and Abdus Sadek were given the task of building the team with three months to go. However, West Germany's Werner Bickelhaupt came as the head coach of the team on the initiative of FIFA. Bickelhaupt, the first foreign football coach of Bangladesh's national team at any level, later served as the coach of the senior team as well. Bickelhaupt's team consisted of: Suhas Barua, Moinul Karim, Dewan Arefin Tutul, Abul Hossain, Sawpan Das, Mukul, Kawsar Ali, Abdus Salam, Md. Badal, Ashish Bhadra, Aslam, Hasanuzzaman Bablu, Kazi Anwar, Hasan Ahmadul Haque, Golam Rabbani Helal, Salam Murshedy, Mohammed Mohsin (captain). Standby: Abdul Halim, Majid, Ghaffer, Moni, Wahiduzzaman Pintu. The team leader was Zillur Rahman, joint manager Nabi Chowdhury and AQZ Islam Kislu and assistant coach Abdur Rahim. Bangladesh were drawn into Group C with Singapore, North Yemen, Bahrain and Kuwait. All games were held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.[4]

Bangladesh's first match was against Singapore. A quick double from Singapore striker Donang, saw the hosts fall behind 2–0. However, goals from Ashish Bhadra and captain Mohsin meant the game finished 2–2. In the next game against North Yemen, the Bangladesh team created history by winning the game 1–0, thanks to a lone goal by striker Hassan Ahmedul Haque.[5] However, the next match saw Bangladesh being defeated 2–0 by Kuwait, the team ended the tournament with a 1–1 draw against Bahrain thanks to a penalty taken by Moshin. The draw meant Bangladesh had failed to reach the quarter-finals finishing a point behind Bahrain, even after going toe to toe with much stronger opposition. Bangladesh then took part in the 1980 AFC Youth Championship, thanks to Sheikh Aslam's goals during qualification. The team finished bottom of their group in the main tournament, having been drawn in a tough group Bangladesh managed earn points against South Korea and Qatar.

Bangladesh almost managed to qualify for the 1985 AFC Youth Championship, after finishing second in their qualifying group alongside South Korea, the team were knocked out of the qualifiers after losing 1–0 in the semi-finals to China. Bangladesh ended up losing the 3rd place match to South Korea. Bangladesh did not participate in the next two out of the five Youth Championship qualifiers, before again qualifying in 1996 after defeating Maldives 8–0 in aggregate. However, in the main tournament, the team disappointed conceding a total of twelve goals in four games, salvaging only a goalless draw against Iran.

2000−present

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After being unfortunate to not qualify for the 2000 AFC Youth Championship, the Bangladesh team managed to qualify for the 2002 AFC Youth Championship, held in Qatar. Nevertheless, they failed to win a single game during the entirety of the Championship. Since 2002, the Bangladesh U20 team was unable to take part in a major tournament until the launching of SAFF U-18 Championship, in 2015. The 2015 SAFF U-19 Championship which was the tournaments first edition was held in Nepal. Rohit Sarkar and Mannaf Rabby scored as Bangladesh defeated Bhutan in their maiden SAFF U-18 Championship game.[6] After advancing to the semi-final as group runner-up, Bangladesh came up short during the penalty shoot-out to India as Rahmat Mia missed the last penalty.[7]

Mahabub Hossain Roksy's team made a remarkable comeback during the opening game of the 2017 SAFF U-18 Championship. After falling 3-0 behind, goals from Jafar Iqbal, Rahmat Mia and Mahbubur Rahman saw Bangladesh win the game 4–3.[8] However, after losing to Nepal 2–1, Bangladesh finished in second place due to head to head results. Roxy's team also showed some promising displays during the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers (previously known as the AFC Youth Championship) although they failed to qualify once more.[9] Atikuzzaman's owngoal in the 94th minute against Uzbekistan, lead to Bangladesh's only defeat during the qualifiers.[10] Bangladesh reached the final of the 2019 SAFF U-18 Championship, only to lose to India 1–2. Bangladesh conceded the first goal within two minutes and although they were down to 10-men after Mohammad Ridoy was sent off after a scuffle with the Indian players, captain Yeasin Arafat equalized just before half-time, but the referee sent him off due to his celebrations and Indian striker Ravi Rana scored the winner in stoppage time to seal his sides victory.[11] The teams fate kept on worsening as, they finished bottom of their group during the 2020 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers.

Due to the ongoing domestic league season, Bangladesh team for the 2022 SAFF U-20 Championship mainly consisted U-17 players from the BFF Elite Academy and the Bangladesh Championship League.[12] The team was impressive throughout the tournament but had similar fate to the previous edition, as they lost to India in the final.[13]

Coaches

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Coaching staff

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As of 21 September 2024
Position Name
Head coach   Maruful Haque
Assistant coach   Md Jahangir Alam
  Md Mehedi Hasan Siddiqui
Goalkeeper coach   Nizam Majumdar
Physio   Fuad Hasan Hawlader
  ATM Reaz Uddin
Team Manager   Shaheed Hossain Swapan
Media Officer   Md Hasan Mahmud

Manager history

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Year Head coach
1975   Mohammed Noor Hossain
1977   Anwar Hossain
1978   Werner Bickelhaupt
1980   Abdul Gafur Baloch
1984   Golam Sarwar Tipu
1988   Werner Bickelhaupt
1996   Otto Pfister
1998   Hasanuzzaman Bablu
2000   Abu Yusuf
2002   György Kottán
2003   Abu Yusuf
2009   Shafiqul Islam Manik
2011   Nikola Ilievski
2013   René Koster
2015–2016   Saiful Bari Titu
2017   Mahabub Hossain Roksy
2017–2018   Andrew Ord
2019   Andy Peter Turner
2022   Paul Smalley (interim)
2022–2023   Rashed Ahmed Pappu
2024–   Maruful Haque

Squad

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Current U-20 squad

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The following 23 players were named in the squad for the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification.[14]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1 1GK Ishaque Akonddo (2006-07-15) 15 July 2006 (age 18)   Brothers Union
13 1GK Md Ismail Hossain Mahin (2007-10-28) 28 October 2007 (age 16)   Mohammedan SC
23 1GK Md Shohanur Rahman   Bangladesh Police

2 2DF Rajib Hossain (2005-03-10) 10 March 2005 (age 19)   Sheikh Jamal DC
3 2DF Parvej Ahmed (2006-12-29) 29 December 2006 (age 17)   Dhaka Wanderers
5 2DF Md Imran Khan (2006-02-02) 2 February 2006 (age 18)   Dhaka Wanderers
8 2DF Md Golam Rabby (2005-06-05) 5 June 2005 (age 19)   Chittagong Abahani
11 2DF Md Rakib Hossain   BFF Elite Academy
14 2DF Azizul Hoque Ananto (2005-07-19) 19 July 2005 (age 19)   Mohammedan SC
15 2DF Kamacai Marma Aky (2005-07-12) 12 July 2005 (age 19)   Fortis FC
16 2DF Shakil Ahad Topu (2006-04-06) 6 April 2006 (age 18)   Mohammedan SC
22 2DF Sirajul Islam Rana (2006-11-21) 21 November 2006 (age 17)   Brothers Union

4 3MF Asadul Islam Sakib (2005-07-29) 29 July 2005 (age 19)   Bangladesh Police
6 3MF Iftiar Hossain (2006-10-24) 24 October 2006 (age 17)   BFF Elite Academy
7 3MF Asadul Molla (2006-12-26) 26 December 2006 (age 17)   Dhaka Abahani
17 3MF Ashraful Haque Asif (Captain) (2005-01-05) 5 January 2005 (age 19)   Mohammedan SC
18 3MF Raju Ahmed Zisan   Mohammedan SC
21 3MF Hossain Mohammad Arian (2006-01-28) 28 January 2006 (age 18)   Brothers Union

9 4FW Iftasam Rahman Jidan (2006-10-18) 18 October 2006 (age 17)   Dhaka Wanderers
10 4FW Moinul Islam Moin (2005-02-18) 18 February 2005 (age 19)   Mohammedan SC
12 4FW Md Nazim Uddin (2006-11-09) 9 November 2006 (age 17)   BFF Elite Academy
19 4FW Piash Ahmed Nova (2005-09-25) 25 September 2005 (age 18)   Fortis FC
20 4FW Mirajul Islam (2006-10-01) 1 October 2006 (age 17)   Dhaka Abahani

Recent U-20 call-ups

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The following players were called up to the squad in the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Mehedi Hasan Srabon (2005-08-12) 12 August 2005 (age 19)   Bashundhara Kings 2024 SAFF U-20 ChampionshipINJ
GK Md Asif (2006-10-20) 20 October 2006 (age 17)   Bashundhara Kings 2025 AFC U-20 ACQPRE

DF Rostam Islam Dukhu Mia (2005-12-13) 13 December 2005 (age 18)   Brothers Union 2025 AFC U-20 ACQINJ

MF Chandon Roy (2007-05-04) 4 May 2007 (age 17)   Bashundhara Kings 2025 AFC U-20 ACQPRE
MF Mohsin Ahmed (2005-09-01) 1 September 2005 (age 19)   Bashundhara Kings 2025 AFC U-20 ACQPRE

FW Md Rabby Hossen Rahul (2006-12-30) 30 December 2006 (age 17)   Bashundhara Kings 2025 AFC U-20 ACQINJ

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
TP Training partner
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Current U-19 squad

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The following 23 players list were named in the squad for the 2023 SAFF U-19 Championship.[15]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Md Asif (2006-10-20) 20 October 2006 (age 17)   Bashundhara Kings
1GK Md Sohanur Rahman   Bangladesh Police
1GK Md Ismail Hossain Mahin (2007-10-28) 28 October 2007 (age 16)   Mohammedan SC
2DF Rostam Islam Dukhu Mia (2005-12-13) 13 December 2005 (age 18)   Brothers Union
2DF Md Imran Khan (Vice-captain) (2006-02-02) 2 February 2006 (age 18)   Dhaka Wanderers
2DF Parvej Ahmed (2006-12-29) 29 December 2006 (age 17)   Dhaka Wanderers
2DF Md Rubel Shaikh (2006-06-10) 10 June 2006 (age 18)   Bangladesh Army
2DF Azizul Hoque Ananto (2005-07-19) 19 July 2005 (age 19)   Mohammedan SC
2DF Sirajul Islam Rana (2006-02-02) 2 February 2006 (age 18)   Brothers Union
2DF Md Yusuf Ali   Bashundhara Kings
2DF Md Akmol Hossain Noyon   Bashundhara Kings
3MF Samuel Raksam   BFF Elite Academy
3MF Moinul Islam Moin (Captain) (2005-02-18) 18 February 2005 (age 19)   Mohammedan SC
3MF Chandon Roy (2007-05-04) 4 May 2007 (age 17)   Bashundhara Kings
3MF Mohsin Ahmed (2005-09-01) 1 September 2005 (age 19)   Bashundhara Kings
3MF Sojol Tripura (2006-07-03) 3 July 2006 (age 18)   BFF Elite Academy
3MF Iftiar Hossain (2006-10-24) 24 October 2006 (age 17)   BFF Elite Academy
3MF Md Insan Hossain   Bashundhara Kings
4FW Raju Ahmed Zisan   Mohammedan SC
4FW Asadul Molla (2006-12-26) 26 December 2006 (age 17)   Dhaka Abahani
4FW Rahmat Jisan Ullah (2005-06-03) 3 June 2005 (age 19)   Fortis FC
4FW Anik Deb Barma   Wari Club
4FW Md Rabby Hossen Rahul (2006-12-30) 30 December 2006 (age 17)   Bashundhara Kings

Fixtures and results

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Matches in the last 12 months, and future scheduled matches
  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

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21 September 2023 2023 SAFF U-19 GS Bangladesh   0–3   India Kathmandu, Nepal
13:45 BST (UTC+6) Report
  • Gwgmsar Goyary   1'
  • Naoba Meitei Pangabam   45+5'
  • Arjun Singh Oinam   90'
Stadium: Dashrath Stadium
Attendance: 201
Referee: Nadheem Ali (Maldives)
23 September 2023 2023 SAFF U-19 GS Bhutan   4–3   Bangladesh Kathmandu, Nepal
17:45 BST (UTC+6)
  • Jigme Namgyel   32', 68'
  • Kingzang Tenzi   45+3'
  • Rinzin Dorji   84'
Report
  • Md Rubel Shaikh   3'
  • Asadul Molla   30'
  • Razu Ahmed Zisan   55'
Stadium: Dashrath Stadium
Attendance: 300
Referee: Adnan Anjum (Pakistan)

2024

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20 August 2024 (2024-08-20) 2024 SAFF U-20 GS Bangladesh   2–0   Sri Lanka Kathmandu, Nepal
15:15 BST (UTC+6)
Report Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Stadium
Referee: Senthil Nathan (India)
22 August 2024 (2024-08-22) 2024 SAFF U-20 GS Bangladesh   1–2     Nepal Kathmandu, Nepal
15:15 BST (UTC+6)
Report
  • Samir Tamang   17'
  • Niranjan Dhami   18'
Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Stadium
Attendance: 483
Referee: Afsheen Naseer
26 August 2024 (2024-August-26) 2024 SAFF U-20 SF India   1–1
(3–4 p)
  Bangladesh Lalitpur, Nepal
15:15 BST (UTC+6)
  • Rickey Meetei   75'
Report
  • Asadul Molla   36'
Stadium: ANFA Complex
Attendance: 3,243
Referee: Shyamlal Danuwar (Nepal)
Penalties
  • Gangte  
  • Pramveer  
  • Gwgwmsar Goyary  
  • Manjot Singh Parmar  
  • Akash Tirkey  
  •   Nova
  •   Moin
  •   Shakil Ahad Topu
  •   Ashraful Haque Asif
28 August 2024 (2024-August-28) 2024 SAFF U-20 Final     Nepal 1–4   Bangladesh Lalitpur, Nepal
15:15 BST (UTC+6)
  • Samir Tamang   80'
Report
Stadium: ANFA Complex
Attendance: 3,425
Referee: Mohamed Jafran Athambawa (Sri Lanka)
21 September 2024 (2024-09-21) 2025 AFC U-20 Qual. Bangladesh   0–4   Syria Haiphong, Vietnam
18:00 BST (UTC+6) Report
Stadium: Lạch Tray Stadium
Referee: Suhaizi Shukri (Malaysia)
23 September 2024 (2024-09-23) 2025 AFC U-20 Qual. Guam   v   Bangladesh Haiphong, Vietnam
17:00 BST (UTC+6) Stadium: Lạch Tray Stadium
27 September 2024 (2024-09-27) 2025 AFC U-20 Qual. Bangladesh   v   Vietnam Haiphong, Vietnam
18:00 BST (UTC+6) Stadium: Lạch Tray Stadium
29 September 2024 (2024-09-29) 2025 AFC U-20 Qual. Bhutan   v   Bangladesh Haiphong, Vietnam
17:00 BST (UTC+6) Stadium: Lạch Tray Stadium

Competition records

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FIFA U-20 World Cup

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FIFA U-20 World Cup
Host/Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1977
to
  2019
did not Qualify
  2021 Cancelled
  2023 did not qualify
  2025 TBD
Total 0/24 0 0 0 0 0 0

AFC U-20 Asian Cup

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AFC U-20 Asian Cup Qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
  1959
to   1971
Part of   Pakistan Part of   Pakistan
  1972 to
  1974
did not participate did not participate
  1975
Group Stage
16/19 4 0 0 4 2 9 N/A Directly qualified
  1976 did not participate did not participate
  1977
Group Stage
12/13 2 0 0 2 0 7 N/A Directly qualified
  1978
Group Stage
10/19 4 1 2 1 4 5 N/A Directly qualified as a host
  1980
Round Robin
5/5 4 0 2 2 1 7 N/A 4 3 0 1 9 3
  1982 did not participate did not participate
  1985 did not qualify 4 2 1 2 3 3
  1986 did not participate did not participate
  1988 did not qualify 2[16] 0 1 1 1 5
  1990 4 1 2 1 5 3
  1992 4 2 2 0 4 1
  1994 3[17] 0 1 2 2 9
  1996
Group Stage
9/10 4 0 1 3 3 12 N/A 2 2 0 0 8 0
  1998 did not qualify 3 2 0 1 4 6
  2000 3 2 1 0 7 2
  2002
Group Stage
12/12 3 0 0 3 0 13 N/A 3 2 1 0 8 2
  2004 did not qualify 2 1 1 0 2 1
  2006 2 0 0 2 0 7
  2008 Withdrew Withdrew
  2010 did not qualify 5 1 1 3 6 14
  2012 4 1 0 3 3 11
  2014 2 1 0 1 1 6
  2016 3 1 1 1 3 5
  2018 4 2 1 1 5 1
  2020 Cancelled 3 0 1 2 2 6
  2023 did not qualify 4 2 1 1 5 4
Total 0 Titles 6/41 21 1 5 15 10 53 59 25 14 22 78 89

SAFF U-20 Championship

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SAFF U-20 Championship
Hosts / Year Result Position GP W D L GS GA
  2015
Semi-finals
3/6 3 1 0 2 3 2
  2017
Runners-up
2/5 4 3 0 1 9 5
  2019
Runners-up
2/6 4 2 1 1 8 2
  2022
Runners-up
2/5 5 3 1 1 10 8
  2023 Group stage 6/6 2 0 0 2 3 7
  2024
Champions
1/6 4 2 1 1 8 4
Total 1 Titles 6/6 22 11 3 8 41 28

Honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bangladesh U-20 football team". International Soccerway. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Bangladesh U-20 football team". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  3. ^ "AFC rebrands age group championships to AFC Asian Cups". the-afc.com. AFC. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  4. ^ "ঢাকার মাঠে সবচেয়ে বড় ফুটবল উৎসব". Utp al Shuvro (in Bengali). 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  5. ^ "মনে পড়ে দেশের মাটিতে প্রথম জয়ের নায়ক তারকা ফুটবলার সুদর্শন স্ট্রাইকার হাসানের কথা". Kiron's Sports Desk. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  6. ^ "SAFF U-19: Bangladesh romp into the semis". The Daily Star. August 22, 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  7. ^ "SAFF U-19: Bangladesh lose to India in the semi-finals". The Daily Star. August 27, 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Bangladesh stage incredible comeback to beat India". The Daily Star. September 18, 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  9. ^ "AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers: Brave Bangladesh hold host Tajikistan". Dhaka Tribune. November 1, 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  10. ^ "AFC U19 Qualifiers: Bangladesh lose 1–0 to fate". BFF. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Nine-man Bangladesh lose tense SAFF U-18 Championship final to 10-man India". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  12. ^ "দেখে নিন অনূর্ধ্ব-২০ সাফে বাংলাদেশ দল এবং ম্যাচের সূচি | কালের কণ্ঠ". Kalerkantho. July 21, 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Gurkirat shatters Bangladesh's dream in SAFF U-20 final". The Daily Star. August 5, 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  14. ^ "এশিয়ান কাপে যাদের নিয়ে ভিয়েতনাম যাচ্ছে বাংলাদেশ". channelionline.com (in Bengali). 15 August 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  15. ^ "U-19 football team to leave for Nepal on Tuesday". New Age. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  16. ^ "লালবাগের সহীদ এক দশকে মাত্র দুটি দলেই খেলেছেন". Ctgsangbad24 (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 6 February 2024.
  17. ^ "স্বাধীনতাউত্তর বাংলাদেশের ফুটবল" (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 11 May 2024 – via Facebook.
  18. ^ "Magical Mirajul helps Bangladesh to maiden SAFF U-20 title". The Daily Star. 28 August 2024. Archived from the original on 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  19. ^ "India beats Bangladesh to clinch U20 SAFF Championship". sportstar.thehindu.com. Sportstar. 5 August 2022. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
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