Bangladesh go down 2-0 to China

Bangladesh slumped to their second successive defeat in the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup as favourites China handed the women in red and green a 2-0 loss in their Group A encounter at the Nonthaburi Stadium today.

Following the defeat, Bangladesh must secure a win against Vietnam on April 7 to keep their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage alive.

After a goalless first half, Yu Xingyue and Wang Aifang struck in the second half to seal China’s second straight win, following their convincing victory over Vietnam.

Still reeling from a narrow defeat to Thailand, Bangladesh made one change to the starting lineup, with coach Peter Butler bringing in Puja Das for Sopna Rani. However, the side failed to find rhythm against one of Asia’s strongest teams.

China dominated proceedings from the outset, putting constant pressure on the Bangladesh defence, where goalkeeper Mile Akter delivered a resilient performance under the bar.

The Chinese side came close early on, with Lu Jiayu heading wide in the sixth minute, while Wang Aifang struck the crossbar from a free kick midway through the first half. Mile Akter also denied Yu Xingyue in a one-on-one situation.

Bangladesh’s only notable effort of the first half came in stoppage time, when Sagorika broke into the box from the left but saw her low drive saved by Lin Chen.

China finally broke the deadlock two minutes after the restart, as Zeng Yujia advanced down the right and squared the ball for Yu Xingyue, who finished from close range.

With Bangladesh struggling to cope, China doubled the lead in the 82nd minute when Wang Aifang curled in a free kick from the edge of the box to seal the result.