Bangladesh’s senior men’s team fell out of the Asia Cup race two matches earlier, but the country’s U-17 side now stands at the doorstep of history. If the young Bangladesh team defeats China today (Sunday) in their final AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifier, they will secure a place in next year’s main tournament in Saudi Arabia.
Both Bangladesh and hosts China enter the decisive match with 12 points each; the Asia Cup is turning today’s fixture into an undeclared final. The match kicks off at 5:35 pm Bangladesh time. Unlike their previous games—played at 3 pm local time—today’s clash will take place in the evening, where temperatures in Chongqing drop significantly.
Many believe China strategically scheduled the game at night to maximise their home advantage in the cold conditions. As one official pointed out,
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍.”
China Holds the Edge, But Bangladesh Remains Determined, Asia Cup
Bangladesh has netted 20 goals across their four matches, conceding only once. China, however, boasts an even stronger record—scoring 38 goals without allowing a single one against them. With a superior goal difference, a draw would be enough for China to top the group. That leaves Bangladesh with only one path forward: they must win. Only the group champions will qualify for the main tournament.
On paper, China is significantly stronger. Their senior national team sits at 93rd in the FIFA rankings, while Bangladesh is 180th. Still, the spirit within the U-17 squad remains high as they chase their dream Asia Cup.
Captain Nazmul Huda Faisal expressed his confidence, saying,
“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍—𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆.”
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