Bangladesh ready for Myanmar test after dream start

Buoyed by a rousing start to their AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign, Bangladesh will be aiming for another big result when they take on hosts Myanmar in their second Group C fixture in Yangon tomorrow.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 3:30pm (Bangladesh time) at the Thuwunna Stadium.

The women in red and green outclassed Bahrain with a 7-0 rout on Sunday, and now face a sterner test against Myanmar -- a side ranked 55th in the world, 73 places above Bangladesh.

Despite the gulf in FIFA rankings, Peter Butler's side are brimming with confidence. The players looked upbeat during their final preparations in Yangon, training at Field 5 from 7:00am to 9:00am on Monday.

Speaking through the Bangladesh Football Federation's (BFF) official Facebook page, players Sapna Rani, Sauravi Akanda Prity, Shaheda Akter Ripa and goalkeeper coach Masud Ahamad Uzzal sent strong, optimistic messages ahead of the crucial tie.

"We are ready to show good performance and win the match," said Ripa.

"We will follow our coach's instructions. Please everybody pray for us," added Sapna.

Prity echoed similar sentiments, saying: "We will try to follow the instruction of our coach and we are hoping for a good result."

Masud, meanwhile, exuded belief in the squad: "We hope the players will not disappoint us."

The match is expected to be decisive, with only the group champions earning a ticket to the Women's Asian Cup in Australia next year. Myanmar too made a flying start, demolishing 141st-ranked Turkmenistan 8-0 in their opening match.

While Myanmar will be favourites on paper, Bangladesh's dominant display against a physically stronger Bahrain side showed they are no pushovers.

A similar performance against Myanmar could well script another memorable chapter in Bangladesh women's football.