Forward Tohura Khatun scored a brace as Bangladesh secured a crushing 7-0 win against higher-ranked Bahrain in their Group C opener of the AFC Women鈥檚 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers at the Thuwunna Stadium in Myanmar on Sunday.
The winners played a high-pressing game from the beginning and maintained that tempo till the end, as Bangladesh had a total of 20 shots on target.
English coach Peter Butler鈥檚 team defied the ranking superiority of Bahrain (92nd), who are 36 places ahead of Bangladesh (128th) in the current FIFA rankings, by taking a 5-0 lead in the first half.
Forward Shamsunnahar (jr) gave Bangladesh the lead in the 10th minute before another forward,
Ritu Porna Chakma, and midfielder Kohati Kisku scored once each in the 16th and 40th minutes, respectively.
Tohura scored a quickfire double in the second and fourth minutes of the first-half stoppage time.
Ritu dedicated her goal to her late younger brother, Parbon Chakma Cizi, who died of electrocution on June 29, 2022.
鈥楾oday is the third death anniversary of my younger brother Cizi. I am dedicating this goal to him,鈥� said an emotional Ritu after the match.
However, Bangladesh went ahead further at the hour mark when Bahrain forward Rawan Alali put the ball into his own net while clearing Shamsunnahar (Jr) attempt from the goal mouth.
Substitute midfielder Munki Akhter, who replaced Monika Chakma in the 67th minute, put the final nail in Bahrain鈥檚 coffin with a fine solo effort in the 74th minute.
Despite winning the match, Bangladesh were in second place of the four-team table behind hosts Myanmar after their 8-0 thumping win over Turkmenistan in the day鈥檚 first match of the group.
Bangladesh will play their next two matches against hosts and 55-ranked Myanmar on July 2 and against 141-ranked Turkmenistan on July 5.
Only the group champions will be joining defending champions China, Korea Republic and Japan in the final stage, scheduled to be staged across three cities 鈥� Sydney, Perth and Gold Coast in Australia 鈥� from March 1 to 21, 2026.
