Bangladesh football history turns a new page

For the first time in history, the Bangladesh women's team has qualified for the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup finals.

Bangladesh women's football makes history in Asian Women's Football Championship qualifiers - Photo: screenshot

This historic achievement came after Bangladesh's dramatic 2-1 victory over host Myanmar in the second round of the qualifiers, which took place on July 2. With 6 absolute points after two matches, along with the 2-2 draw between Bahrain and Turkmenistan in the same round, Bangladesh officially took the top spot in Group C.

This means that the Bengal team has officially booked their ticket to the final round with one match left early. They cannot be dethroned as the top team in the group thanks to a better head-to-head record against the second-placed team Myanmar.

Ritu Porna (center) scored a double to help the Bangladesh women's team defeat Myanmar - Photo: screenshot

Notably, Bangladesh is the first team from the qualifying round to qualify for the 2026 Asian Cup finals - after four teams that have already qualified directly, including hosts Australia, Japan, South Korea and China. This success is not only a milestone for Bangladesh, but also an inspiration for other underdog teams.

Before this miracle of the women's team, Bangladesh football had only participated in the Asian Cup finals once - that was the men's team in 1980 in Kuwait. Since then, this is the best achievement of Bangladesh football.

Their men’s team is currently also in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, but has only managed to get one point from its first two matches. The success of the girls is therefore a great inspiration for Bangladeshi football.

To better understand the significance of this historic event, it is important to know that in a traditional society like Bangladesh, women's pursuit of sports , especially football, is still deeply prejudiced.

Bangladeshi women footballers face a number of barriers from their families, communities and a severe lack of facilities. Low wages, difficult training conditions and lack of public interest are common obstacles.

However, with burning passion and strong will, many female players have overcome everything to pursue their football dreams. And now they have reaped the sweet rewards, writing a golden page in the history of Bangladeshi sports.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lich-su-bong-da-bangladesh-buoc-sang-trang-moi-20250703135732284.htm