Bangladesh’s SAFF Championship 2026 hopes ended in heartbreak at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Saturday, as a late goal from a mispass by goalkeeper Mehdi Hasan Srabon handed Pakistan a 1-0 win in the semifinal.

The match was seemingly heading towards extra-time, before Srabon’s costly error.

The goalkeeper tried to throw the ball to a teammate, but ended up playing it straight to a Pakistani player, who passed it to Abdul Samad Shahzad.

The forward then struck the ball all along the ground with his right foot and Srabon, even with a desperate dive, couldn’t keep it out.

The passionate home crowd then turned hostile for the remainder of the match, throwing in flare guns at the Pakistan goal, which disrupted play for a few minutes. Hamza Choudhury went up to the goalpost to calm the fans.

Things turned hostile inside the pitch as well with Bangladesh and Pakistani players coming close to a bust-up multiple times.

As the final whistle blew, Pakistan celebrated reaching their maiden SAFF final while Bangladesh leaked their wounds, as their wait for a SAFF title is set to extend beyond 23 years.

Earlier, Bangladesh and Pakistan came close to scoring once each in the first half, with the woodwork denying both teams.

There were fewer clear-cut chances in the second half, as both teams were cautious about not slipping up.

Srabon had had a good match till then, making a number of decent saves, before the costly blunder, the burden of which he will have to carry for a long time.