U17s crash out after heavy defeat against Chinese Taipei

Bangladesh's hopes of reaching the finals of the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup came to an end after suffering a heavy 5-0 defeat against Chinese Taipei in their last qualifying match at the Aqaba Stadium in Jordan on Friday.

Bangladesh needed an outright win in their Group H second and final fixture to topple Chinese Taipei and qualify for the finals for the third time, having previously reached the final round in 2017 and 2019.

The U-17 girls were also hoping to emulate the feats of the senior women's and U-20 women's teams, who had both secured qualification for their respective Asian Cup finals earlier this year.

However, Chinese Taipei proved far too strong for the girls in red and green, maintaining the momentum from their 6-1 win over hosts Jordan with another dominant performance. They netted twice in stoppage time to complete a resounding 5-0 victory and seal their fifth appearance in the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup finals.

The physically imposing Chinese Taipei side broke the deadlock inside six minutes after Bangladesh conceded a penalty from a foul in the box following a corner. Wu Cai-Xuan converted from the spot to give her team an early lead.

The charges of Saiful Bari Titu rarely threatened the opposition, struggling with misplaced passes, poor ball control, and a toothless attack as they spent much of the game chasing possession.

Chinese Taipei doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute when Chung Yun-Chien side-volleyed home from close range following a free-kick. Yang Xin-Yi made it 3-0 with a neatly placed finish in the 66th minute.

When it appeared the match would end with that scoreline, Chinese Taipei added two more goals in stoppage time -- captain Wu Yen-Yu and substitute Hsiao Yu-Chien scoring within the span of a minute -- to complete the rout.