Bangladesh coach Peter Butler stated that their primary objective is to secure a victory against Laos before facing the formidable South Korea as the Englishman announced a 23-member squad for the AFC Under-20 Women鈥檚 Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers on Thursday.
Bangladesh, who are pitted in Group H and leave for Laos on August 2, will start their campaign against hosts Laos on August 6 before they face Timor-Leste and South Korea in the other two group games on August 8 and 10, respectively. All three of the games will be held at the New Laos National Stadium.
Butler kept an unchanged squad, which retained the SAFF Under-20 Women鈥檚 Championship 2025 title in Dhaka on July 21.
鈥楽outh Korea, in my opinion, is probably one of the best teams I鈥檝e seen in this region鈥� They鈥檙e a very talented group of players, very fit and strong, but, like I said, our first priority is Laos, and we will be fit and ready to go,鈥� said Butler during a press conference at the BFF House on Thursday.
Bangladesh captain Afeida Khandaker, who captained the Bangladesh SAFF U-20 team and the national team in the AFC Women鈥檚 Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers, vowed to try their best to qualify for the main event.
鈥榃e will try our best to qualify for the final stage,鈥� said Afeida.
Afeida believed that these three games would help the team to prepare them for Bangladesh鈥檚 maiden campaign in the AFC Women鈥檚 Asian Cup to be held in Australia next year.
鈥榃e are the same group that played in the SAFF U20鈥� These three matches will help us to prepare for the Asian Cup in Australia, as we will face the South Korean team in the qualifiers,鈥� she said.
A total of 33 teams split into eight groups will compete in the qualifiers, and the eight group champions, alongside the three best second-place finishers鈥� will join hosts Thailand for the finals in April 2026.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Swarna Rani Manda, Mili Akter, Ferdousi Akter Shonale; Defenders: Zaynab Bibi, Afeida Khandaker (captain), Surma Jannat, Kanom Akter, Ruma Akter; Midfielders: Swapna Rani, Kanon Rani Bahadur, Oeyshi Khatun, Ayonto Bala Mahato, Rupa Akter, Bonna Khatun, Munki Akter, Sinha Jahan Shikha, Shanti Mardi, Nadia Akter Juti; Forwards: Pooja Das, Umehla Marma, Mosammat Sagorika, Trishna Rani, Nabiran Khatun.
