Fortis hero Ibrahim says match winning goal belonged to the country

Mohammad Ibrahim's second half strike gave Fortis FC a dream start to life on the Asian club stage, but the forward who inspired their 1-0 win over Kyrgyzstan's Muras United admitted afterwards that the moment carried a significance far beyond club football.

Fortis secured their place in the AFC Challenge League main round with victory in the preliminary round tie at Bashundhara Kings Arena on August 11, 2026, with Ibrahim scoring the only goal in the 52nd minute after collecting a pass from Gambian teammate Pa Omar, beating both his marker and the goalkeeper before finishing powerfully into the net.

The two sides had gone goalless through a cagey first half, but Ibrahim transformed the contest soon after the restart, and the emotion of the occasion was still visible when he spoke to reporters afterwards. "It never crossed my mind that I was playing for Fortis. It felt like I was playing for the country. The country is bigger here. I am very happy to have contributed and scored for the country," he said.

The win also doubled as personal redemption. Exactly a year earlier, Ibrahim had suffered defeat to the same Muras United side while playing for Dhaka Abahani, and he was candid that the context of Tuesday's goal meant more to him than the strike itself. "I have scored in international matches before. This is not my best goal, but the importance of this match and this moment means much more to me," he said, crediting his coach's man management for the belief that carried him through. "The coach told me to believe in myself. I kept that belief and gave everything I had on the pitch."

Behind the result lay a deliberate tactical plan from head coach Masud Parvez Kaiser, who revealed after the match that his side had trained for 21 consecutive days at 3pm in punishing heat specifically to prepare for conditions Muras were unlikely to be accustomed to.

"Why 3pm? The answer is simple, for the 1-0. Honestly, we needed some difference in our own conditions. They were not used to the heat, and our players took advantage of that," Kaiser explained, adding that the pitch itself played a part too.

"The ground was very soft underneath and there was strong sunshine above. That is difficult for physical players because they usually play on better pitches. But our Bashundhara Kings Arena becomes very soft after rain. It puts extra load on the muscles and causes cramps. We wanted a strong start, and the players delivered it."

Kaiser also credited an unlikely source of motivation, revealing that newspaper coverage in the build up had been used to fire up his squad.

"First of all, I would like to thank all of you journalists. Because the reports you published yesterday all reached me. One thing was common in every report: they talked about taking Bangladesh football forward and whether Fortis could do it. Everyone wrote very positively. So I used those words to motivate my players, telling them that this was an opportunity for us, at our own Kings Arena, to achieve something special," he said.

The coach's commitment to the club has previously come at a cost. Kaiser recalled turning down an offer to take charge of the national under-23 side last year rather than split his focus. "I was the head coach of a club. I could not do injustice to two teams at the same time. I could not train Fortis one day and the national team the next. I did not have that ability, so I apologised to the general secretary and the technical director," he said.

Kaiser was equally candid that Ibrahim had not been his first choice for the forward line. With Rakib Hossain and Faisal Ahmed Fahim unavailable, the coach turned to Ibrahim largely because of his prior AFC competition experience.

"To be truthful, Ibrahim was not in my original plans. I had initially brought in foreign players. Rakib and Fahim were in my first plans. When I could not get them and called Ibrahim, I was looking for players who had previously played in AFC competitions. At that point my options were Ibrahim or Al-Amin. I did not take Al-Amin because of his lack of experience. I needed experience, and that is why I chose Ibrahim," he said.

That gamble paid off handsomely, though whether Ibrahim will be available to continue the story is now in doubt. He joined Fortis from Abahani on only a one month loan, alongside fellow loanees Shahed and two Japanese players, meaning his participation in the main round depends entirely on whether his deal is extended.

Asked how he would feel missing out after playing such a central role in getting Fortis there, Ibrahim struck a measured tone. "This is still being discussed, so let's see what happens. Of course, it feels good to think that I helped Fortis move forward. That is how it is. But naturally, I would feel bad if I cannot play. And if I can play, then of course I will be happy," he said.

Kaiser shares that uncertainty but was clear about his ambitions for the tournament regardless of who features. "Ibrahim's contract was only for one month. The same with the two Japanese players and Shahed. Now we have to see what we can do going forward for the final round. I do not want us to be there just to participate. We want to take Fortis to another level," he said.