Bangladesh captain Hamza Choudhury refused to blame his teammates after their 1-0 defeat to Pakistan in the SAFF Championship 2026 semi-final on Saturday.
Hamza looked visibly upset after the final whistle at the National Stadium in Dhaka. He sat on the pitch with his face covered before making his way to the dressing room. The disappointment was still clear when he later spoke to reporters in the mixed zone.
Bangladesh had created several good chances throughout the match but failed to score. Abdul Samad then struck in the 86th minute following a mistake by goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon.
Despite the costly error, Hamza stood by his teammate.
“We cannot blame anyone. I think they changed their game plan at half-time. Even then, they created only one chance, while we had two great chances. That’s football, isn’t it? They got one chance and scored,” Hamza said.
Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley also defended Srabon during the post-match press conference. The hosts had two clear chances in the first half. In the 23rd minute, Rakib Hossain received the ball inside the box following a header from Shamit Shome. But Pakistan goalkeeper Yousuf Butt saved his shot.
Shuki Itofusa then wasted another chance in the 42nd minute. He received a pass from Zidane Yousuf in a good position but fired over the bar. Pakistan also had a clear plan to stop Hamza from controlling the midfield.
After the match, Pakistan head coach Nolberto Solano admitted that his side wanted to limit Hamza’s movement and stop him from playing freely with the ball.
Bangladesh also missed defender Saad Uddin, who had already been ruled out of the tournament with an Achilles tendon injury. Rahmat Mia replaced him in defence against Pakistan.
When asked whether he missed Saad during the important match, Hamza replied, “I always miss Saad Uddin.”
The defeat ended Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching their first SAFF Championship final since 2005, while Pakistan booked a place in Tuesday’s final against India.
