Dhaka, Mar 2 (UNB)- Bangladesh will play China in their third and last match to decide Group B champions from the qualifying round-2 match of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship on Sunday.
The match will kick-off at 2:30pm Bangladesh time at Mandalar Thiri Stadium in Mandalay, Myanmar.
Bangladesh U-16 Women secured a final round berth of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship for the second successive time alongwith China with one match to spare. They eliminated hosts Myanmar 1-0 in their second Group B match on Friday after a dream start, crushing the Philippines by 10-0 goals on Wednesday.
In Sunday’s group decider, Bangladesh have to beat stronger China to be the champions. China topped the group list scoring 12 goals, against Bangladesh’s 11 goals, but both teams have secured full six points.
China beat Myanmar by 5-0 goals and the Philippines 7-0. Hosts Myanmar and the Philippines were eliminated from the meet after suffering two successive defeats.
After the two Group B matches, both China and Bangladesh have secured berths in the eight-team final round of the AFC meet scheduled for September in Thailand, also a qualifying meet of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2020.
With the feat, Bangladesh have an opportunity to play in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup as three top teams of the AFC meet will be entitled to play in the World Cup.
In the final round of the last AFC U-16 Women’s Championship in 2017, also a qualifying round of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Bangladesh suffered 0-9 goals defeat against North Korea, conceded 0-3 defeat against Japan and 2-3 defeat against Australia.
Earlier, hosts Bangladesh U-16 Women’s team reached the round-2 of the AFC qualifiers as the unbeaten Group F champions crushing Lebanon 8-0, United Arab Emirates 7-0 and Vietnam 2-2 in Dhaka in September last year.
Ahead of the Sunday’s vital match, Bangladesh U-16 Team and Bangladesh National team, also in Myanmar, enjoyed a day of recovery with light pool session, foam rollers and stretching and looking forward to their final game against one of the biggest football nation in Asia.
Three injured Bangladeshi players – Shamsunnahar Junior, Tahura Khatun and Rupa – had a rehabilitation session with the team’s physio. Bangladesh Head Coach Golam Rabbani Choton, said: “We are now making plans to play against stronger China. This is a great opportunity for us to play against such high profile oppositions. We also have a good opportunity to measure ourselves against a real force in female World Football.” “The reality is that they are a quality team, but we see this as a great opportunity to continue to improve and learn,” he added.
Captain Maria Manda concurred. “Playing against this kind of quality opposition allows us to learn and improve as we are now developing,” she said.
