Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Dhaka: Zemlianuhin Anton scored a double as he helped Kyrgyzstan record a 3-1 win over hosts Bangladesh in their 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 opening match on Thursday.
Anton (pictured, centre) registered his first goal after only nine minutes in the match held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
Bernhardt Edgar converted a penalty on 29 minutes to double the lead but subsequently bulged his own net three minutes later to bring it one down for Bangladesh.
Anton, who plays his club football for Serbian top flight Radnički Niš, duly completed his double four minutes before the half-time whistle to win three points for Alexander Krestinin’s side.
The teams in Round 2 will compete according to a double round robin format, and the qualification matches will be held from June 11, 2015 to March 29, 2016.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup finals.
Photo: AFP