U-20s meet Iran in ‘must-win’ game

Bangladesh know they cannot afford anything but a victory when they face favourites Iran in the last match of the AFC U-20 Women's Asia Cup today.

A draw in the group-deciding match, which will kick off at 5:00 pm at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur, will see both Bangladesh and Iran end with six points each but the Iranians will, in that case, grab the direct qualifying spot as Group E champions.

The girls in red and green kicked off their campaign with a 4-0 win against Turkmenistan on Friday, but since Iran beat the same opposition 7-1 in the group opener, Bangladesh will be looking for a victory to seal a maiden appearance in the final round of the competition.

Bangladesh coach Golam Rabbani Choton was less than satisfied with the team's performance in the first match as he felt they could have got more goals. Now trailing Iran due to goal-difference, Choton sees no alternative but to go for a victory.

"We don't have any option but to win this match because the group champions go through. There will be two best runners-up going through, but that is a very difficult proposition," Choton told The Daily Star yesterday.

Neither team had any practice session yesterday as Bangladesh were busy recovering with light gym session. There was bad news for the hosts though as regular skipper Shamsunnahar is likely to sit out the second game as well after missing out on the first game due to a ligament injury.

"Shamsunnahar is unlikely to feature. It is our bad luck that we are not getting her services, but we can't do anything about it. Irene Khatun, who played in her position in the first match, will likely play again," Choton informed.