00:00Four goals. No goals conceded. Group winners on home soil.
00:04Bangladesh are into the SAF Championship semi-finals.
00:07But is this really the best football they have ever played?
00:10Or is the real test still to come?
00:13Let's break it down.
00:14Bangladesh have won this tournament only once, in 2003, and that was also in Dhaka.
00:20Since then, 23 years of waiting.
00:23Now the SAF Championship is back at the national stadium,
00:26and the whole country is asking one question.
00:28Is this the year?
00:30The opening match against Bhutan was not pretty.
00:33Bangladesh needed a substitute, Mohamed Ibrahim, to score in the 69th minute for a 1-0 win.
00:38And there was a reason.
00:40The game fell outside the FIFA window,
00:42so their England-based stars, Hamza Choudhury and Farhan Ali, were not released by their clubs.
00:47Then, Bhutan and Sri Lanka drew 2-2,
00:50and Bangladesh were through to the semi-finals before playing their second game.
00:54Then, the stars arrived.
00:55Against Sri Lanka, Hamza Choudhury led Bangladesh out as captain for the first time.
01:01Shamit Shom scored inside 10 minutes.
01:03Just before halftime, Hamza himself took a pass from Ibrahim, skipped past a defender, and fired in.
01:09After the break, Farhan Ali dribbled past three Sri Lankan defenders and scored a stunning solo goal.
01:15And they added a fourth.
01:174-0.
01:18That was the performance fans had been waiting for.
01:20Here is the case four.
01:22Two wins, five goals, zero conceded.
01:26A diaspora core of Hamza, Shamit and Farhan that makes this team look different.
01:31Bangladesh's youth teams have been winning titles too.
01:34And the case against.
01:35Bhutan and Sri Lanka are ranked below Bangladesh.
01:38The opening win was narrow.
01:40And the real giants, India, have won this tournament nine times.
01:44Next up is Pakistan in the semi-final on November 14th.
01:48Win that, and a final against India could be waiting on the 17th.
01:52Bangladesh have looked brilliant once.
01:54Now, they have to do it when it matters most.
01:57So, is this Bangladesh's best ever team?
02:00Tell me in the comments, and follow for more daily football stories.
