Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley pointed to the gap in FIFA rankings, training and competitive football after his side suffered a 9-2 defeat by Indonesia in the FIFA ASEAN Cup on Thursday.
Bangladesh, ranked 181st, faced an Indonesia side ranked 116th. Dooley said the difference in ranking reflected a wider gap between the teams.
“If you are ranked 181st and your opponent is ranked 116th, 130th or 140th, it clearly shows that the higher you go in the rankings, the better they are as players and as a team. The teams in Southeast Asia are certainly ahead of South Asia,” Dooley said.
Indonesia needed a big win in their final group match to overtake Hong Kong on goal difference and reach the final. They eventually finished level on seven points with Hong Kong but advanced on goal difference.
Bangladesh conceded in the 11th minute and struggled to cope with Indonesia’s speed and decision-making. Dooley said stronger opponents exposed a key weakness in his players’ development.
“Against stronger teams, the players’ thinking, decision-making and speed of play become slower. In football, the main thing is speed, how quickly you understand the situation, control the ball and execute,” he said.
Dooley also stressed the amount of training required to reach the highest level. He said players need at least 10,000 hours of intensive practice, equivalent to working for three hours every day over many years.
“Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia have leagues that are much stronger than our league. They train throughout the year and play competitive matches every week. Many Indonesian players also play in European leagues such as the Bundesliga, the Netherlands or Italy, which has a big impact on their game,” Dooley said.
Bangladesh trailed 6-1 at half-time and kept Indonesia scoreless during the second half until stoppage time. Indonesia then scored three times in seven minutes to complete the rout.
Dooley said the ASEAN Cup had provided valuable lessons despite the heavy defeat.
“Improvement never comes overnight. We will use the experience and lessons we have gained from this tournament and try to do better in the future,” he said.
