Bangladesh girls qualified for the final round of the AFC U-16 Championship after edging host Myanmar in the second phase of the qualifying round at Mandalarthiri Stadium in Mandalay Friday.
The girls in red and green had thrashed Philippines 10-0 in their Group B opener at the same venue Wednesday but had to graft harder against the home side.
Monika Chakma scored the all-important goal in the 68th minute as Bangladesh confirmed a top-two berth alongside China, who thumped Philippines 7-0 in the other Group B game of the day.
Bangladesh could have taken the lead in the 14th minute but Tahura Khatun shot straight at the Myanmar goalkeeper.
Both Bangladesh and China have maximum six points from two matches but the latter are top thanks to a better goal difference.
While Bangladesh have a goal difference of 11+, China have 12+.
Bangladesh and China will take on each other tomorrow to decide the table-topper.
Bangladesh began their 2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship Qualifiers second round campaign with a resounding 10-0 win over Philippines at Mandalarthiri Stadium in Mandalay, Myanmar Wednesday. Read more - https://t.co/hKslJCEkJJ#BANGLADESH #FOOTBALL #AFC #BANGLADESHFOOTBALL #BFF pic.twitter.com/H3DULu6YTs
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) February 27, 2019
The eight-team final round will be hosted by Thailand later this year in September where the home side, North Korea, South Korea and Japan already lie in wait.
This is the second time in succession Bangladesh have progressed to the final round of the tournament.
The champion and runners up side of Group A will fill the remaining two berths.
Group A comprises Australia, host Laos, Vietnam and Iran.
The Group A matches will take place from Sunday to Thursday.
Earlier, Bangladesh qualified for the second round after finishing as Group F champion in the first round.
RESULTS
Myanmar U-16 0 1 Bangladesh U-16 (Monika 68)
China U-16 7 0 Philippines U-16