Bangladesh women’s football team faced Turkmenistan in a formality match. Having already secured a spot in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the match held little importance for Bangladesh. However, the team showcased its dominance right from the start. The match kicked off at 6:30 PM Bangladesh time, and despite the lack of stakes, Bangladesh played brilliant football from the beginning. Within just 13 minutes, the team led by Afida Khandakar had already netted three goals.
British coach Peter Butler kept the starting XI unchanged from the previous match against Myanmar. Bangladesh took the lead in just the 3rd minute through a goal by Swapna. Shamshunnahar scored in the 6th minute and added her second goal in the 13th minute.
Monika scored in the 16th minute, followed by a goal from Rituparna in the 17th. This forced Turkmenistan’s coach to make a goalkeeper change by the 19th minute. Tahura’s goal in the 20th minute made it 6–0.
On paper, Bangladesh was the favorite in this match. In recent times, they’ve defeated higher-ranked teams like Jordan, Bahrain, Indonesia, and Myanmar — raising expectations of a big win against Turkmenistan among Bangladeshi football fans.
Bangladesh Starting XI: Rupna Chakma (Goalkeeper), Afida Khandakar (Captain), Shiuli Azim, Shamshunnahar, Kohati Kisku, Maria Manda, Monika Chakma, Swapna Rani, Rituparna Chakma, Shamshunnahar, and Tahura Khatun.