Socceroos overcome stubborn Bangladesh to earn World Cup qualifying win
Bangladesh 0-2 AustraliaMehedi Hasan og, 29; Yengi 62
It took 29 minutes but, eventually, the pre-match headline writers got what they’d been waiting for. At least they thought they did, for about an hour. As soon as Nestory Irankunda had been revealed as a start for Australia in their World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh, which ended in a 2-0 win for Graham Arnold’s side, an air of anticipation arose, waiting for the 18-year-old to announce himself on his international debut. And after 29 minutes at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka there he was, laying off an assist for Ajdin Hrustić to fire in from nigh-on 35-yards and give the Socceroos a lead.
That’s what the historical record would have said, at least, when this game was remembered only when someone came across the ‘2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round’ entry on Wikipedia. That was until word came through on the coverage that Hrustić’s effort was heading off target before it took a mammoth deflection of Bangladeshi defender Mehedi Hasan, leaving Mitul Marma completely wrongfooted in the goal.
