BD face China in AFC Women’s Asian Cup today

Sports Reporter :

Bangladesh Women’s Football team’s press conference was at 12:00pm local time at Commonwealth Bank Stadium on Monday. China’s press conference lasted a little longer. So Bangladesh women’s press conference started 15 minutes later. Captain of Bangladesh Women’s Football team Afeida Khandaker sat on the conference stage with Head Coach Peter Butler. Bangladesh women will face China women in their first Group-B match at Western Sydney Stadium in Australia today. The match will kick-off at 2:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time). According to the latest FIFA rankings, Bangladesh Women’s Football team have taken 112th position, while China Women’s Football team have taken 17th spot.
Bangladesh Women’s Football team, China Women’s Football team, North Korea Women’s Football team and Uzbekistan Women’s Football team are in Group-B. The forward line of China women and North Korea women are quite strong. It is predicted that a storm will blow over Bangladesh’s defense. After qualify for the final phase of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, Bangladesh had to play in high line defense against Thailand in FIFA International friendly matches and conceded many goals. In this position, there is a lot of gap between the goalkeeper and the defense. Coach Peter Butler said about the defense against China. “If you want to play against such a team, you must keep the defense in order. The defense strategy and 3 or 4-5 people can be seen on the field.”
Bangladesh Captain Afeida is one of the most reliable in the defense. She will have to handle many of China’s attacks from the front. Although Coach Peter Butler did not say anything directly about the high line defense, the captain said, “We have been practicing here for several days. We are improving day by day. We will play the high line defense that we have played.”
There is a little more wind and cold weather in Sydney. Bangladesh practiced in Sydney for a week in the morning under daylight. Butler said, “I don’t think it will be a problem. The field we practiced at Jubilee Stadium is also very good.”
The Bangladesh Women’s Football team has achieved a lot of success in the last few years. Despite achieving success, the facilities are comparatively few. Especially the field has to suffer a lot. Australia has very good facilities. Afeida Khandaker said, ” If we get such facilities, both the chances and opportunities of playing better would increase.”
“The facilities have been increasing in the last few years. I hope it will increase further in the future,” she added.