Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Dushanbe: Tajikistan registered their first win in Group B of the FIFA World Cup 2018/AFC Asian Cup 2019 qualifying campaign as the Central Asians thrashed Bangladesh 5-0 at the Central Republican Stadium on Thursday.
Manuchehr Dzhalilov, who has been in fine form for his club FC Istiklol this year, scored four times in the win which moved the Tajiks three points behind third-placed Kyrgyzstan.
Dzhalilov, who had scored two goals in previous joint-qualifying outings against Kyrgyzstan and Jordan, opened his account on 16 minutes before scoring his second 10 minutes later.
Akhtam Nazarov then successfully converted a penalty six minutes after the restart, before Dzhalilov notched his third and his side’s fourth goal after 59 minutes.
Tajikistan further compounded Bangladesh;s agony when the 25-year-old midfielder scored his fourth of the game with a precise header after the hosts had a wonderful volley ruled out for offside.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA 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.