Women's football scales new height

Bangladesh women's team's fairytale journey in international football took a giant leap at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon yesterday as Ritu Porna Chakma's stunning brace earned them a 2-1 win against Myanmar, eventually helping the team qualify for the AFC Women's Asian Cup for the very first time, set to be held in Australia in March next year.

The win put the women in red and green top of Group C with six points from two games, with pre-campaign favourites Myanmar in second position with three points, followed by Bahrain and Turkmenistan, who have a point each after playing out a 2-2 draw in a match held later in the day.

The result of the day's second match ensured that Bangladesh will go through as the lone qualifier from the group as they would edge Myanmar on head-to-head criteria even if they lose their last match against Turkmenistan on Saturday and the hosts beat Bahrain.

On the ranking parameter only, it was supposed to be a battle between David and Goliath as Bangladesh are currently ranked 128th while Myanmar, the top-ranked side of the group, stand way above on 55th.

However, FIFA rankings could often be very deceptive, which Bangladesh have proved with their recent draws against Indonesia and Jordan in two FIFA friendlies.

But the 7-0 routing of 72-ranked Bahrain in the opening match of the group on Sunday gave Peter Butler's charges the confidence to attain a much bigger and more significant victory against the hosts, who were much more physical, egged on by a partisan crowd yesterday afternoon.

Butler's tactics were perfectly executed by the team, unchanged from the previous match, as Bangladesh played an impressive brand of attacking football, with three centre-backs marshalling a high-line defence.

While Bangladesh were the more dominant side from the get-go, the hosts had found a way past the Bangladesh defence on a number of times, only to fall into the dreaded off-side trap. On the occasions that they did get through past the defence, goalkeeper Rupna Chakma was there to rescue the team with her sweeper-keeper instincts.

The Bangladesh goalkeeper, often criticised due to her small stature, played one of the best games of her career to keep the hosts at bay. The difference, though, was made by Ritu Porna who scored two brilliant goals to seal the fate of the contest – the first a curler from the edge of the box on a rebound from her free kick on the 18th minute and the second, a trademark Ritu Porna strike – beating the goalkeeper with a looping left-footer from just inside the box -- in the 72nd minute.

The shell-shocked hosts threw everything at Bangladesh and eked out a goal a minute before the end of the stipulated time, but Bangladesh confidently held on to a one-goal lead to etch a piece of history.

Chief Adviser of the interim government, Prof Muhammad Yunus, congratulated the women's team on their success, calling it "a matter of pride for the whole nation".

This gigantic achievement had been a long time coming, the seeds of which were sown in the early years of the last decade when Bangladesh started to dominate age-group football in South Asia. BFF's Talent Hunt and the Bangamata Gold Cup proved fruitful as talented footballers started to come through from different pockets of the country, Kalshindur in Mymensingh a prime example.

Once the South Asian dominance was confirmed, the young Bangladeshi girls started making waves in age-level Asian women's football, making it to the final eight twice with Monika Chakma and Maria Manda, two of the mainstays of this team – showcasing the full repertoire of their skills at a very early stage.

With consecutive SAFF titles in 2022 and 2024 in the bag, Bangladesh, coached by Peter Butler, turned their focus to the continental level, determined to break into the top Asian bracket at the senior level, and they have done that with a show of great authority and conviction.

The Asian Cup berth not only gives Bangladesh an opportunity to rub shoulders against the top 11 teams of the continent, it also opens up their path to the qualifiers for the Women's World Cup in 2027 and the Los Angeles Olympics the following year.

Those campaigns will be a big step-up for Butler's charges and they would need to pull up their socks and start working again, but for now, it's time for Ritu Porna and Co to celebrate.