U-20 women set for historic Asian Cup debut

Bangladesh are all set to mark their debut in the AFC Women’s U-20 Asian Cup when they take on Thailand in Group A opener at the Thammasat Stadium in Bangkok today.

The match will kick off at 7:00pm Bangladesh time.

Having already created history by reaching the finals of the U-20 Asian Cup, the women in red and green will now aim to make a further impact in Asia’s premier youth women’s competition. 

However, coach Peter Butler is focusing on positive performances rather than results in the three group-stage matches.

Bangladesh have been drawn in a tough group alongside strong opponents China, Vietnam and Thailand. Despite the challenge, Butler’s charges will be hoping to keep their knockout hopes alive by finishing among the two best third-placed teams across the three groups.

One of Bangladesh’s key strengths lies in their experience. Several players -- including Afeida Khandokar, Sopna Rani, Umehla Marma and Mile Akter -- were part of the senior team in the recently concluded AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.

While the senior side faced tough outings against stronger teams such as China and North Korea, the youth team will look to put up a better fight against their age-level counterparts. The opening match against 2004 semifinalists Thailand could prove crucial in their bid to reach the knockout stage.

“What I did is take 10 to 12 of those Under-20 players to the senior Asian Cup because they've been in and around the national team programme. We suffered a few defeats, but we gained some important learning outcomes,” Butler said at a pre-match press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday.

The English coach stopped short of setting specific targets but expressed hope that his players would take valuable lessons from the tournament.

“We’ve arrived with a lot of young players gaining their first experience. They’ve done remarkably well to get here, and I hope this will be a wonderful learning opportunity for the girls,” Butler said. “I believe the performances they gave at the senior tournament will stand us in good stead, and hopefully we can look forward to some positive displays irrespective of the results.”

Thailand coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian is also confident of a strong start, banking on home advantage.

“We have had a lot of training camps, we have home ground advantage, and we have selected the best players. We are ready for the competition and at our best,” said Srathongvian, who has been in charge for eight years.