AFC Women's Asian Cup: BD captivating battle against champions China

Sports Reporter :

Bangladesh Women’s Football team’s first Group-B match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup against China Women’s Football team was held at Western Sydney Stadium in Sydney of Australia on Tuesday. Thousand of expatriate Bangladeshis witnessed Bangladesh’s debut match on the Asian stage against the current champions and most-time champions of the AFC Women’s Asia Cup, China Women’s Football team. They witnessed a hard-fought defeat against China by only 0-2 goals.
China sent the ball into Bangladesh’s net in the 22nd minute. Later, the goal was disallowed by Video Assistant Review (VAR). This made China’s goal wait even longer. In the 44th minute of the match, China’s Wang Shuang scored a goal with a long-range shot. A minute later, China scored another goal. However, Bangladesh’s defenders are responsible for this goal. They could not clear it properly. Later, Zhang Rui’s shot hit the feet of two Bangladeshi defenders Kohati and Captain Afeida and the ball went into the net. This goal was also checked by VAR, but the decision went against Bangladesh.
China’s ranking is 17, Bangladesh’s 112. It was interesting to see how Bangladesh competed in the unequal battle. Bangladesh played positive football for the stipulated 90 minutes. Despite having more players in defense, Bangladesh also tried to take control of the midfield and attacked. Chinese footballers are much more physically and technically advanced than Bangladesh. However, the fitness of the Bangladesh team in the field was at a commendable level. Ritu Porna & Co were not far behind in the fight for possession of the ball or in the chase.
Asian champions China had to wait until the 44th minute to get the first goal. China scored two goals in the last two minutes of the first half. In the second half, Bangladesh improved in ball possession. In this half, they tried to break the defense shell a little and attack. Goalkeeper Mili Akter does not play in the regular eleven of Bangladesh Women’s Football team. He was nervous at first against the Asian champions on the AFC Women’s Asian Cup stage. Later, she adjusted herself. She made several good saves. In the 14th minute, the ball was pushed to Ritu Porna Chakma from a counter attack. Ritu Porna Chakma took possession of the ball after leaving the Chinese defender behind. She quickly moved towards the Chinese box. The Chinese goalkeeper was a little ahead. Ritu Porna’s shot from 30 yards was almost going to score. Chinese goalkeeper Chen Chen jumped back into the void and saved the ball from going into the net. If it had been a goal, it could have been recognized as the best goal of the tournament.