Opponents showing respect to Bangladesh
Even though there is not much razzmatazz regarding the final round of the AFC U-16 Women's Championship, which starts today in Thailand's coastal city of Chonburi, the importance of this tournament can hardly be overemphasised.
The apex regional competition for the age-group women, which offers three places for next year's FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, will get underway at two separate venues of the city with eight of the continent's best teams participating. For Bangladesh, this is a special occasion as the girls in red and green have earned their rightful place among Asia's best, and are all set to take on women's football powerhouses such as Australia, Japan and North Korea.
Even though on the ride to Chonburi from Suvarnabhumi Airport, no banner, festoon or placards regarding the tournament came to notice; there was enough festivity surrounding the three hotels where the players, match officials and organisers are staying.
There was something to cheer about for Bangladesh as the other teams are taking them seriously and exclaimed their respect for the Bangladesh team during the official press conference yesterday.
“Our first and prime target is to stay in the top two positions,” said defending champions North Korea coach Song Sung Gwon, implying that his team wants to ensure their sixth successive final out of seven editions.
“We don't have any idea about Bangladesh but they are definitely a good team as they came this far and we have to be careful about them,” was Song's reply about Bangladesh, who will begin their campaign against North Korea before taking on Japan and Australia in Group B.
Australia coach Roy Dower echoed the same sentiment and praised Bangladesh.
“There is nothing to talk about North Korea and Japan, but I will say that Bangladeshi girls are really playing good football and that is why we want to take all opponents equally,” said Dower.
One team that does have good idea about Bangladesh are Japan. The Bangladesh team toured Japan twice as part of their one-year-long preparation and played some 10 matches against Japanese academies and school teams.
“There are some talented players in the Bangladesh squad and they can make the difference. They have taken a lot preparation for this championship and I think they have the opportunity to do something good,” said Kusnose Naoki, the coach of Japan, who are the most successful team in the competition's history with three titles and five final appearances.
While the other teams are showing a tremendous amount of respect, the Bangladesh squad are keeping their feet firmly on the ground with the resolve of showing the progress they made on the pitch.
“We want to be competitive and play good football every match. I think our girls will gather a lot of experience from this tournament and that will help develop women's football in Bangladesh,” opined Bangladesh coach Golam Rabbani Choton.
In the opening day, China will play against South Korea while hosts Thailand will take on Laos. Bangladesh will play their first match against North Korea tomorrow.