Changes on the cards for Bangladesh

The Bangladesh women's football team are likely to make a few changes from last month's Jordan tour for the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifiers, which will be played in Myanmar towards the end of this month.

The women in red and green will start their Group C campaign against Bahrain on June 29 before taking on hosts Myanmar on July 2 and ending the campaign against Turkmenistan three days later. Only the group winners will advance to the Asian Cup, which will be held in Australia in March next year.

Bangladesh (128) are the second-lowest ranked side in the group, with Myanmar (55) way above on top, followed by Bahrain (92), while Turkmenistan (141) are the lowest-ranked side.

However, the recent Jordan tour, where Bangladesh held much higher-ranked Jordan and Indonesia to draws, is giving the team management confidence of getting positive results.

Speaking to The Daily Star on Saturday, a member of the coaching staff said: "The first match against Bahrain is the most crucial one. We are all focused on that match and if we can win that fixture, we will be confident of making it through to the final round."

A total of 28 players are currently training under head coach Peter Butler for the key assignment, and the squad will be trimmed to 23 members ahead of the team's departure for Myanmar in the early hours of Wednesday.

Five senior players from Bhutan have already returned to join the camp, with Shamsunnahar Sr the latest to arrive. The five other players, including former captain Sabina Khatun and defender Masura Parvin, continue to be overlooked.

The member of coaching staff told The Daily Star that there will be a few changes from the Jordan tour with some experienced players as well as young ones, especially in defence and midfield, joining.

"This is a much more important assignment. There will definitely be a few inclusions while a few players from the Jordan tour will miss out. The final squad will only be revealed by the coach, but I can say that this squad will have more experience," the member said, asking not to be named.