Clearing away the clouds of doubt, Bangladesh women’s football team coach Peter James Butler expressed his satisfaction at qualifying for the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers and shared his hopes of going even further.
Despite a heavy defeat against a strong South Korea, Bangladesh still managed to secure a ticket to the main round of the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup. That alone was enough to please Butler. In a message sent from Laos through the Bangladesh Football Federation, the English coach spoke about his next target.
While the success at youth level is a reason to celebrate, Butler’s main focus remains on the senior team. Thanks to their strong performance in the Asian Cup qualifiers, Bangladesh made an impressive leap in the FIFA rankings — jumping 24 spots to reach 104th place. Butler’s goal is to break into the top 100.
“I think the most important thing is what we have achieved. Looking back at the UAE tour, I feel it actually started last year in Chinese Taipei. I truly believe that our rise in the FIFA rankings has really materialised because we have the ability to create a competitive and healthier working environment, and the girls have done extremely well.”
“What they have achieved deserves recognition and praise. I think the ranking can drop very quickly or go up very quickly. So we need to be realistic and keep trying again. We must keep working with perseverance to maintain our FIFA ranking and bring it below 100.”
In the group stage of the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers, Bangladesh lost 6-1 to South Korea. Even after taking the lead in that match, Butler’s attacking approach drew some criticism. However, the Bangladesh coach made it clear there will be no change to his tactics.
“Some players had fever, there were injuries, and we had our problems — but I appreciate the way they played. From our point of view, I think we achieved what we set out to do. We couldn’t get the icing on the cake, but yesterday we played against one of the best U-20 women’s football teams in the world.”
“After going ahead, we could have gone defensive, dropped back, and tried to protect the goal with our lives — but I don’t agree with that. That’s not how I work. Overall, I’m happy for the girls and really proud of them.”
