And yet, the domestic Football Federation and the National Team of the country have proven to the fans that real football celebrations can take place in our country without incidents. Even reinforcements on the fences in the form of iron rods were not needed, as ticketless fans simply could not approach the Spartak stadium due to the serious cordon set up by the law enforcement agencies. After the nightmare that occurred during the Kyrgyzstan-Australia match, all mistakes were taken into account, and the two matches against Tajikistan and Bangladesh were held without incidents.
The Kyrgyzstan national team played its fifth match in the World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign on October 13 in Bishkek against the Bangladesh national team. Our team had already managed to defeat this opponent with a score of 3:1 in Dhaka, so the domestic team was set only for victory. Moreover, the opponent's coach noted that it is very unusual for his players to play in cool weather. The following players took the field for Kyrgyzstan: Pavel Matyash, Valery Kichin, Viktor Mayer, Azamat Baymatov, Mirlan Murzaev, Tamirlan Kozubaev, Pavel Sidorenko, Vitaly Lyuks, Farhat Musabekov, Anton Zemlyanukhin, Edgar Bernhardt. Right from the starting whistle, our footballers rushed into the attack. They hardly moved away from the opponent's goal. In the 24th minute, the Kyrgyzstan team earned a free kick, but Valery Kichin shot poorly from a low position. The goal against the opponent was scored in the 27th minute. Vitaly Lyuks finished off a corner kick - 1:0! During the first half, there were many chances to increase the lead, but unfortunately, all were unsuccessful.
The second half of the match against Bangladesh again began with active actions from the Kyrgyzstan team in attack. In the 58th minute, the players of the Bangladesh national team had a great chance to equalize the score, but our goalkeeper Pavel Matyash excellently handled the opponent's shot from close range. The stands chanted: "Myatyash, Matyash"! Ildar Amirov was the quickest in a scramble in the Bangladesh penalty area in the 89th minute. The score on the scoreboard became 2:0! This was an unquestionable victory for the Kyrgyzstan team! However, the opponent's coach Fabio Lopez stated to journalists that the game was equal and that these two goals were just a coincidence. Our coach Alexander Krestinin does not agree at all, as his team was indeed a head above the opponent in this game.
"The fact that the score on the scoreboard was not 4:0 - that is the coincidence," said Alexander Krestinin.
Thus, after five matches, the first place is confidently held by the Jordan national team, which crushed the Tajikistan national team with a score of 3:0. The Jordanians have 13 points. The second place is held by the Australian national team with 9 points, which has one more game in hand. The third place is occupied by the Kyrgyzstan national team. After the victory over the Bangladesh national team, our team has 8 points. The Tajikistan national team has 2 points, and the Bangladesh national team has 1 point, respectively. The next matches of the qualifying round will take place on November 12. Australia will host the Kyrgyzstan national team, while Bangladesh will play away against the Tajikistan national team.