India's last five meetings against Bangladesh

The Blue Tigers have played with Bangladesh 13 times.

The Indian Football team discovered their opponents in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Final Round on Monday (December 9). The Blue Tigers will be facing off against Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangladesh in six matches, needing to top their group to secure a place in the continental competition.

Manolo Marquez’s men will be kicking off their qualifiers campaign at home against Bangladesh. The two teams have shared an intense rivalry over the last decades, with India finding it tricky to oust the Bengal Tigers in competitive matches.

The last time that they met was more than three years ago and they’ve faced each other 13 times in the 21st century. Here we look at how the Blue Tigers’ last five competitive games against the Bangladesh football team went.

India 1-1 Bangladesh (4 October 2021)

The Blue Tigers met Bangladesh in their opening group game of the 2011 SAFF Championship. India looked quite comfortable in the opening phases of the game, dominating it from the get-go and putting their opponents under pressure. The Blue Tigers took the lead in the 27th minute after an Udanta Singh cross found Sunil Chhetri in the middle, with the India captain making no mistake finishing it.

India continued dominating the game, but an inability to convert chances came back to haunt them. Yeasin Arafat scored the equalizer in the 74th minute with an impressive diving header. India saw a big Manvir Singh chance late on scuffed by some resilient defending, forcing them to split the points.

Bangladesh 0-2 India (7 June, 2021)

India’s first win in the year 2021 came against the Bengal Tigers in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier clash. After having lost their last two qualifiers held in Qatar, the Blue Tigers were in desperate need of a win to regain their momentum. They faced a pretty sturdy Bangladesh side, who maintained a tight, stubborn defensive shape and gave the Indian side very little room to maneuver in the final third.

With the game seemingly heading towards a stalemate, the Blue Tigers had to be bailed out by Chhetri. The Bengaluru FC forward got at the end of Ashique Kuruniyan’s cross to score the opener in the 79th minute, before scoring a clever goal in the 92nd minute to seal a compelling win.

India 1-1 Bangladesh (15 October, 2019)

The Blue Tigers were eager for their first win in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers when they hosted Bangladesh at a 50,000-strong Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on 15 October. It didn’t exactly turn out to be the fairytale that many had hoped for. The Indian side lacked their clinical edge in the final third and were frustrated by the visitors, who were more than happy to sit deep and hit them on the counter-attack.

The Bengal Tigers took a shock lead in the 42nd minute after a Gurpreet Singh Sandhu mistake gifted a goal to Mohammed Saad. The Bangladeshi side parked the bus after that in the hunt for a famous win, but India savaged something in the dying stages. Adil Khan scored a powerful header in the 88th minute to help India get a point from the game and avoid the embarrassment of a home loss.

India 2-2 Bangladesh (5 March, 2014)

India only played two competitive matches in 2024 and one of those was an international friendly against Bangladesh at the Fatorda Stadium, in Goa. The Blue Tigers started that game on the front foot as Robin Singh combined well with Sunil Chhetri, allowing him to run through the left flank into the box before he produced an expert finish.

India were the dominant side in the first half but lost their composure after the break. In the 51st minute, Mithun Chowdhary finished off a slick move to score the equalizer. Bangladesh then took the lead in the 64th minute through an unfortunate Arnab Mondal own goal. With India on the brink of an awful loss, Chhetri came up big again in the 92nd minute by scoring a clutch equalizer to help his side avoid a humiliation.

Bangladesh 1-1 India (3 September, 2013)

India and Bangladesh were paired up in the same group at the 2013 SAFF Championship, which was held in Kathmandu. It ended up being quite a relatively cagey performance from Wim Koevermans’ side after they had only managed a 1-0 win over Pakistan in their first group game.

The Blue Tigers struggled to find openings in the Bangladesh final third and were scrappy in finishing off their chances.

They were made to pay in the 82nd minute when Bangladeshi defender Atiqur Meshu scored the opening goal. Just as it seemed like India were heading towards a loss, Chhetri turned on his style by scoring a brilliant equalizer in the 95th minute to help his side gain a point from the game.

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