U-17s ‘will not disappoint us’

Bangladesh are all set to begin a new era under coach Mahbubur Rahman Litu in the second round of AFC U-17 Women's Championships, scheduled for September 20 to 24 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The team will fly out on Monday afternoon for Vietnam.

The national age-group women's teams have not competed in a tournament since the departures of long-serving head coach Golam Rabbani Choton and technical director Paul Smalley's three months ago.

"I feel no pressure [with the absence of Choton and Smalley] because it has been my profession which is always challenging, and I have been enjoying my roles," said Litu at a press conference at BFF House yesterday.

Bangladesh, who came to the second round after getting past Singapore and Turkmenistan, have been placed along with strong Australia, Vietnam and Philippines. Two teams will advance to the eight-team final round where Japan, North Korea, China and hosts Indonesia play directly.

Bangladesh had twice qualified for the finals of AFC U-16 Women's Championships, which has now been changed to a U-17 event.

Captain Ruma Akter exuded supreme confidence. "We have been working hard since the completion of the first round and trying to play the way we want to play against Australia and Vietnam because our target is to qualify for the third round by winning all matches," she said.

Head coach Litu, on the other hand, kept his optimism in check.

"You know Australia, Vietnam and Philippines are ranked 2nd, 5th and 7th, respectively, while Bangladesh are ranked 29th. This group of girls do not possess the experience of players such as Maria [Manda], Monica [Chakma], Sanjida [Akhter] and others who had played the finals of the championships twice.

"However, this team have not been bad. I think they will not disappoint us."

Bangladesh had previously beaten Vietnam and Philippines in AFC U-16 Qualifiers. Against Australia, they held vastly superior opponents to a 2-2 draw in the final round in 2019 after having lost 2-1 in the final round in 2017.

Fixtures:

September 20 Bangladesh vs Vietnam

September 22 Philippines vs Bangladesh

September 24 Australia vs Bangladesh