Thursday 12th March 2015
World Cup Asian Zone Round One First Leg
Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka 0-1 Bhutan
As if San Marino’s stunning draw last November weren’t unlikely and exciting enough for us here at the Worst in the World, now the sole remaining last-placed team have only gone and won. Bhutan now have the only 100% record in World Cup football history, having played once and won once. Not a bad World Cup debut by any stretch of the imagination, and even more so for the team ranked as the worst in the world.
The historic goal came from midfielder Tshering Dorji eight minutes from time, to grab a fabulous victory and leave Bhutan in with a real chance of progressing through to the second round where the likes of Japan, Australia and South Korea could await. That scary thought can wait for another day though as there is the small matter of the second leg to negotiate – I’m just getting a little carried away. But having secured this win, and a nice away goal with it, Bhutan must feel confident ahead of facing Sri Lanka back in the high altitude and cooler temperatures of Thimpu.
In this first leg in a hot and sunny Colombo, however, Bhutan have got off to a most impressive start and of course in the process they have ensured they will rise from the foot of the world rankings once April’s table is published. Can it get even better in the second leg next Tuesday (17th March)? Let’s hope so.
Some lovely photos of the game and the celebrating Bhutanese players can be seen on FIFA’s website here:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=275167/match=300311247/photos/index.html#
It’s clear there were a number of Bhutanese fans in the stadium amongst the crowd of 3,500, whom the jubilant players celebrated with at full time, with a clear sense of bewilderment and delight. Marvellous stuff.
The historic goal:
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