Bangladesh’s U-20 women’s football team delivered a dominant performance to beat East Timor 8-0 in their second match of the Asian Cup qualifiers today at the New Laos National Stadium in Vientiane.

Trishna Rani starred with a hat-trick, while Sinha Jahan Shikha, Shanti Mardi, Nabiran Khatun, Munki Akter, and Mosammat Sagarika also found the net.

The match started cautiously, with Bangladesh struggling to convert early chances. The breakthrough came in the 20th minute when Shikha headed in a corner from Swapna Rani. Shanti Mardi doubled the lead in the 33rd minute with a rare Olympic goal, her corner curling directly into the net after hitting the post. Just three minutes later, Nabiran Khatun added a third with a precise header from another Mardi corner.

In stoppage time of the first half, Trishna Rani scored her first goal with a neat finish, assisted by Sagarika.

After halftime, Bangladesh continued their dominance. In the 57th minute, Trishna scored her second goal from a rebound after Shikha’s shot was initially saved. Sagarika made it 6-0 in the 73rd minute, calmly dribbling past the goalkeeper. She then assisted Trishna’s hat-trick goal in the 82nd minute with a well-placed pass into the box. Munki Akter rounded off the scoring just before full time.

Bangladesh now sit on six points from two matches in Group H and will face South Korea in their final group stage game next Sunday. South Korea currently lead the group after a 9-0 win over East Timor.

Last month, the senior women’s team qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time, and if the U-20 team continues their form, they too will make history by securing a spot in next year’s main tournament in Thailand.

MN/