Hamza Choudhury scored on his SAFF debut late in the first half, following Shamit Shome’s early strike as Bangladesh led Sri Lanka 2-0 at half-time in their final Group A match of the SAFF Championship 2026 at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Hamza, playing as an attacking midfielder, scored in the 43rd minute to double the margin, and also helped set up Shome goal in the eighth minute.
The 27-year-old, who usually plays as a defensive midfielder, orchestrated Bangladesh’s attacks throughout the half, with the Sri Lankans struggling to keep up.
In the eighth minute, Hamza withstood shoves from a Sri Lankan defender but didn’t lose possession of the ball, flung a cross in from the right corner, which the goalkeeper couldn’t clear properly.
The ball fell on the feet of Shome, whose first attempt struck a defender, but his second shot beat the keeper.
In the 25th minute Hamza nearly pulled off an outrageous goal. Through to the goal, he beat the keeper by chipping the ball over, then tried to back-heel the ball into an empty goal, but the ball went over the post.
His perseverance paid off in the 43rd minute, when he perfectly anticipated a through pass from Mohammad Ibrahim, ran into the box, clashed with a Sri Lankan defender but the ball ricocheted back to him, and then, placed the ball home.
As the score stands, Bangladesh are set to finish as Group A champions and face Pakistan in the semifinal.