Bangladesh clawed back to 1-1 against India in Malé during the SAFF U20 Championship’s unofficial group final, thanks to a stoppage-time set-piece that exposed India’s defensive lapse. India struck first inside 18 minutes, but Ronan Sullivan’s corner and Abdul Riyad Fahim’s far-post instinct flipped the script just before the break.
India opened with purpose and sliced through Bangladesh’s defensive shape. The forward timed his run between centre-back and full-back, then finished clinically. Bangladesh’s back line hesitated for a split second, and India punished it.
That early blow rattled Bangladesh, yet the response carried bite. They pushed higher, recycled possession quicker, and forced India deeper with repeated wide overloads. Crosses began to land with intent, not desperation.
Pressure built, and the equaliser screamed inevitability. Sullivan shaped the corner with pace and whip, dragging India’s defensive block towards the near post. That movement created the real gap.
Fahim read it quicker than anyone. He ghosted into the far-post pocket, attacked the blind side, and drilled the finish home. That goal owed everything to positioning sense; Fahim didn’t chase the ball, he hunted space.
India’s set-piece marking collapsed under that manipulation. They overcommitted centrally, lost the far-post runner, and paid for it. Bangladesh turned a routine corner into a calculated ambush.
The equation now sharpens. India still hold the edge on goal difference, so Bangladesh must chase another goal. Expect more deliveries, more far-post runs, and more stress on India’s zonal discipline. One more lapse at that back stick could settle it.
