Spirited Bangladesh play out a goalless first half against Kuwait

Having made two impressive comebacks to win in their last two games against Maldives and Bhutan, Bangladesh looked threatening in the first half of their SAFF Championship semifinal against a superior Kuwait at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru today.

Despite attacks on both ends, the scoreline of the game stays 0-0 at halftime. 

The best chance of the half came to Bangladesh just minutes after kickoff. Forward Rakib Hossain sprinted his way past the Kuwaiti defender in the right flank and provided an accurate square pass to Sheikh Morsalin, who, despite being alone inside the opposition's 18-yard box, could only shoot it right at the Kuwait goalkeeper. 

Bangladesh also survived a major scare in the first 10 minutes of the game when a header from a Kuwait forward had to be cleared just ahead of the goalline by Isa Faisal. 

Bangladesh goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico also made a crucial save in the 27th minute of the game. A lobbed cross from Kuwait forward Al Rashidi from the left flank seemed to be heading towards the goal and Zico had to punch it away. 

Zico once again had to make a diving save when Al Rashidi tested him with a low powerful shot from outside the penalty box. 

Meanwhile, even though unusual, Kuwait already made a tactical change as they brought on Mahdi M Dashti for Ali Muhaisen in the 31st minute of the game.

Bangladesh, ranked 192 in the FIFA rankings -- 49 places behind a far more superior Kuwait -- seemed compact and were not afraid to be aggressive in their approach, finding some nice passes in the midfield and the attacking third. Especially Rakib gave the Kuwaiti defenders a hard time, making some darting runs through the flanks and providing crosses.