Prity ensures Bangladesh progress with flying colours

Bangladesh sealed their place in the second round of AFC U-17 Women's Asia Cup Qualifiers as group champions with an emphatic 3-0 win over hosts Singapore in Group D's last and final match at the Jalan Besar Stadium yesterday.

Sauravi Akanda Prity struck a brace from the spot while Sultana Akter netted another to confirm Bangladesh's progress in the competition.

Bangladesh, who previously had twice played the finals of the AFC U-16 Women's Championship, were faced with a must-win game to ensure progress, and the girls in red and green did not disappoint as they passed a tricky Singapore test with flying colours. They were also boosted by a home-like environment as a few thousand expatriate Bangladeshi spectators were seen, on Facebook live, chanting "Bangladesh, Bangladesh!" throughout the match.

Meanwhile, Malaysia, Australia, Vietnam, India and Philippines have already booked their places as group toppers.

Two more teams from Group E and H are left to join the aforementioned group champions. The participating teams in the eight-team second round, split into two groups, will play the round-robin league matches from September 16 to 24. Afterwards, the top two teams from each group will advance further and will be joined by defending champions Japan, DPR Korea, China and hosts Indonesia in the eight-team final round in April, 2024.