Bangladesh U-16 women’s team are confident about qualifying for the next round of the 2019 AFC U-16 qualification tournament by becoming the winner of their group stage.
Bangladesh are pitted in Group F and they will start their campaign against Bahrain Monday at 3:30 pm at Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka.
Lebanon, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates are the other three teams as the champion of the group will qualify for the next round while the two best runners-up of the six groups will also qualify for the next round, alongside five other group champions.
Those eight sides will compete in the next stage and four of them will join the four automatic qualifiers in the 2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, scheduled to be held in Thailand.
The Group F matches of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2019 Qualifiers got underway in Dhaka with favourites Vietnam and Lebanon getting off to flying starts at Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium Saturday.https://t.co/q1uJFURBZ3#AFC #BANGLADESH #FOOTBALL #VIETNAM
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 15, 2018
Bangladesh, the top-ranked side in Group F, qualified all the way last year and were satisfied with their preparation and expected to qualify this time round as well.
“We made good preparation. We played three championships since last December and won two of them and became runners-up in the other. Girls learned a lot. I am satisfied with the preparation and by the grace of Allah, everyone is fit and healthy,” said the coach Golam Rabbani Choton at the press conference Sunday.
Despite the success, a few of the key players of the side surpassed the age-barrier, but the coach is confident about the skills of his new charges.
“A few of the new players like Shamsunnahar Jr, Rituparna Chakma and Sajeda Akter are extremely talented. I would rate the previous team a little higher but this team are not far away as all 23 players have international experience,” said Choton.
Bangladesh captain Maria Manda also echoed his coach and the teenager expressed confidence of accomplishing their mission.
The coach and the captain also urged the spectators to fill the stadium.
In the opening day of the tournament Friday, Vietnam and Lebanon made good starts as they beat the UAE and Bahrain 4-0 and 8-0 respectively.
The winners will play the first match Monday at 11:30am at the same venue.
