Hosts Bangladesh pulled off a huge upset in the AFC Under-16 women’s football Group B qualifying round match when they stunned Jordan 1-0 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Wednesday. Sanjida Akhter scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the 70th minute to leave Jordan shell-shocked. Jordan, who are currently placed 57th in the FIFA women’s world rankings, 60 places ahead of them, struggled throughout the game as Bangladesh surprisingly dominated the proceedings.
Player of the match Sanjida proved to be a constant threat with her fluid passing to create opportunities for forwards Bipasha and Krishna Rani, but they failed to grab their chances.
Bangladesh took the control of the match from the beginning and the margin of the win could have been bigger if the forwards had not wasted so many scoring opportunities.
After a barren first half, Bangladesh finally broke the deadlock when referee awarded them a penalty.
Substitute Lipi Akter, who came to the field in the 66th minute, was brought down by a Jordanian defender inside the box for the referee to point the finger at the spot.
Sanjida Akhter made no mistake to send the ball into the right corner of the Jordan keeper Naser Salem Albustanji.
‘The girls got the reward of their hard work for the last two months,’ said Bangladesh U-16 coach Golam Rabbani Choton.
‘I was happy to see that the team played in the same rhythm for full 90 minutes and they played according to my plan, ‘Now we will try to keep the momentum in our next match against UAE.’
UAE lost to Iran 9-0 in the opening match with Fatemeh Geraeli and Fatemeh Ghasemi each striking four goals. Hajar Dabbaghi netted the other goal.
India are the other side of the competitions, which will see two teams progressing to the final round in China next year.
-With New Age input
