Peter James Butler’s team took full control of the match with six goals in just 19 minutes.
Even though this was just a formality for Bangladesh, coach Peter James Butler kept his starting XI unchanged. The team’s hunger to finish the Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers with a perfect winning record was evident from the start. Within 19 minutes, Bangladesh had already scored six times and went into halftime with the scent of a massive victory.
On Saturday, in their third and final Group C match held in Yangon, Myanmar, Bangladesh took on Turkmenistan—and completely dominated. At the break, Butler’s team was leading 7–0.
After thrashing Bahrain 7–0 in their opener and then upsetting strong favorites Myanmar 2–1, Bangladesh had already made history by qualifying for the Women’s Asian Cup for the first time. So, this final game against Turkmenistan was more of a formality for players like Afida and Rituparna.
Still, the girls had made it clear they wanted to finish on a high. And they meant business from the first whistle. The scoring began in the 4th minute. A cut-back from Tahura Khatun set up Swapna Rani, who fired a powerful shot from outside the box to find the net.
Just two minutes later, the lead was doubled. Afida’s header off a teammate’s cross was parried by the keeper, but in the scramble inside the box, Shamsunnahar Junior tapped it home.
By the 13th minute, the scoreline read 3–0. A cross from Shamsunnahar Senior on the right was missed by the diving goalkeeper, and Shamsunnahar Junior was again on hand to calmly slot it in. A few moments later, Monica Chakma picked up the ball just outside the box, took a touch forward, and unleashed a beautiful strike to make it 4–0.
In the 17th minute, Rituparna dribbled past a defender and shot from well outside the box. The ball slipped through the goalkeeper’s hands and ended up in the back of the net. After this goal, Turkmenistan’s coach replaced Aisha Amanberdiyeva with Elnura Maksutova between the posts.
But Elnura had barely settled before conceding again. She failed to properly clear an attack, allowing Rituparna to recover the ball and deliver a sharp cross, which Tahura converted with a simple touch from close range.
In the 35th minute, a shot from Rituparna clipped the top of the crossbar. But five minutes later, she made no mistake—curling a powerful left-footed shot from just outside the box that deflected off the goalkeeper’s gloves and into the net.
The main phase of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup will be held in Australia in March next year.
