Bangladesh secured a historic first-ever football victory in Europe after defeating San Marino 2-1 in an international friendly at the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle late tonight (6 June).
Defender Topu Barman starred for Bangladesh with a brace, including an 86th-minute winner that sealed the memorable triumph.
Bangladesh went ahead in the 19th minute when Topu opened the scoring to give the visitors an early lead.
San Marino, however, fought back before the break as Nicolas Giacopetti scored the equaliser in the 31st minute to make it 1-1 at halftime.
The second half saw both sides make several substitutions, but neither team managed to break the deadlock for most of the match.
With the game seemingly heading toward a draw, Topu struck again four minutes before full-time to restore Bangladesh’s lead and secure the historic win.
The result marked Bangladesh’s maiden football victory in Europe.
The friendly was also the first match in charge for Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley, who took over the national team few days earlier. The victory gives the German-American coach a winning start to his tenure ahead of the team’s upcoming AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign.
Bangladesh came into the match ranked 181st in the latest FIFA rankings, while San Marino were ranked 211th.
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