Bangladesh qualify for U-20 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time

Following Lebanon's 8-0 loss to China, Bangladesh have secured a place in the AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup for the first time as one of the three best runners-up.

After today's 6-1 defeat to South Korea, Bangladesh's wait to qualify for the main round of the Asian Cup grew longer. The equation then became simple — if Lebanon, from Group E, lost to China, Bangladesh would advance to the main stage. In the end, Lebanon could not hold their ground against China and suffered a heavy defeat. This ensured that five of the eight runners-up remained below Bangladesh in the standings.

Bangladesh's football history began its Asian Cup journey in 1980, when the men's national team competed in Kuwait. The women's U-17 side played in the Asian Cup in 2005 and qualified again in 2017 and 2019.

Continuing on that path, last July in Myanmar, the national women's football team made history when Rituparna, Tohura, and their teammates qualified for the main stage for the first time through the Asian qualifiers.

A draw against South Korea would have been enough for Bangladesh U-20 women's football team to top their group and qualify for the Asian Cup. But at the New Laos National Stadium in Vientiane, Peter Butler's side could not make that celebration happen.

After Trishna Rani's first-half goal made it 1-1, Bangladesh conceded five goals in the second half, dashing their hopes of topping the group.

Bangladesh began the Asian Cup qualifiers with a win, beating hosts Laos 3-1 in the opening match. They then thrashed East Timor 8-0 in their second game. But today, they could not withstand the challenge from South Korea.

Trishna finished as Bangladesh's top scorer in the tournament with four goals, including a hat-trick against East Timor. Mosammat Sagorika scored three goals.

Since the start of 2024, the Bangladesh U-20 women's football team had been in superb form. They went unbeaten in 12 matches before today's loss to South Korea. Earlier, they clinched the SAFF title on home soil with six consecutive wins.

The qualifiers, featuring 33 Asian teams, began on 6 August and concluded on Sunday. By the time this report was written, North Korea, India, Japan, South Korea, and China had secured direct qualification to the main stage, which will take place in Thailand next year.

The AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup will be held from 1–18 April in Thailand, with the hosts having already booked their spot. They will be joined by 11 other teams from the qualifiers. Japan are the most successful team in the tournament's history, having won the title six times. The current champions are North Korea.

A strong performance at the Asian Cup could also earn a ticket to the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. The top four teams in Thailand will qualify for the global tournament, which will be held in Poland in September. North Korea are also the reigning world champions.