Bangladesh captain Afeida Khandaker said the Tigresses will play with freedom and determination when they take on Uzbekistan in their final Group B match of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Monday.
Making their debut in the continental tournament, Bangladesh have already faced two of Asia’s heavyweights. They began their campaign with a spirited performance against defending champions China PR, going down 2-0, before suffering a tougher lesson in their second outing with a 5-0 defeat to three-time champions DPR Korea.
Despite the setbacks, Afeida believes the experience has been invaluable and insisted the team will approach the final group match without pressure.
“Peace be upon you, everyone. Our final game of the group is tomorrow. We will surely try to give our best performance on the pitch. We have nothing to lose,” Afeida said during the pre-match press conference on Sunday.
“We qualified here for the first time and represented our country. This is a very proud moment for us. If Allah wills, something good will happen. Everybody pray for us,” she added.
The skipper also highlighted the need for better playing infrastructure at home to help Bangladesh women’s football continue its progress.
“I said on the first day that if our fields at home are good, then we can practice well. It becomes easier for us. We need good fields at home. If that happens soon, football in our country will develop more,” she said.
Bangladesh have also shown defensive resilience in the tournament. Afeida has been among the standout performers at the back, recording six blocked shots so far in the competition — the highest in Group B. Uzbekistan’s Maftuna Shoyimova follows closely with five blocks.
The Tigresses will now look to end their group fixtures in their historic debut campaign on a positive note when they face Uzbekistan in Perth.