The Bangladesh women’s football team aims for an improved performance against South Korea on Thursday to recover from a record defeat in their Asian Games campaign.
Bangladesh face South Korea in their second Group F match at Osaka’s Nagai Stadium at 1:00pm Bangladesh time.
The squad held a rainy final training session on Wednesday morning at the J-GREEN Sakai facility. They are desperate to show fighting spirit after Monday’s 10-0 thrashing by North Korea. British head coach Peter Butler had rested key starters for that match, including Ritu Porna Chakma and Monika Chakma, fielding teenage newcomers instead.
Assistant coach Abul Hossain remains positive despite the harsh reality check.
“It is true we did not start well, but we still have two more matches,” Abul said. “We have room to do well. We hope the girls try to do better in the next match.”
Abul noted the staff has studied their opponents closely to prepare for another difficult test.
“We watched South Korea’s match,” he explained. “North and South Korea are similar, but we analysed how they play and planned our strategy. Truthfully, there is a big difference in quality between us, but we will try to play a good game.”
He openly admitted the team’s primary focus remains their final match against Myanmar on 21 September.
“From the beginning, our main target was not North or South Korea,” Abul added. “Our focus is mostly on Myanmar. Because our team and Myanmar are closer in level, we aim for a positive result against them.”
Providing a fitness update, Abul confirmed that aside from Nabiran Khatun, who suffered an injury during a previous practice match in China, the entire squad is fully fit.
Defender Sheuli Azim said the defence is focused on tightening up after Monday’s heavy loss.
“Overall, our preparation is good,” Azim said. “We will try not to repeat the mistakes from the previous match. We conceded double-digit goals. Since our next opponent is also very strong, our effort will be to reduce the goals we let in. We will try not to concede at all, and do the best we can.”
Azim acknowledged the immense pressure of facing elite opposition.
“North and South Korea are equal, although there might be a slight difference,” she said. “It is very tough to match their pace on the pitch. However, we are trying hard to improve.”
