Bangladesh will conclude their group campaign of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers with a crucial clash against hosts China at the Tonglianglong Stadium in Chongqing on Sunday.
Both teams have won all four of their previous group matches and jointly top the Group A table with 12 points each. They defeated Timor-Leste, Brunei Darussalam, Sri Lanka and Bahrain.
The home side, however, hold a significant edge on goal difference, standing 19 goals ahead of Bangladesh. China have scored 38 goals without conceding any, while Bangladesh have netted 20 and conceded just one.
Bangladesh must beat China to qualify for the final tournament, said the team manager in a video message provided by the Bangladesh Football Federation on Saturday.
Skipper Nazmul Huda Faysal said, “We won the last four matches well. Yesterday’s match was against strong opponents Bahrain, but we were able to win that match too.”
“It’s like an unannounced final against China. The winner will qualify. It’s a very important match. China are a strong team, but we will try to give our best to qualify. Please support us like the last four matches. We want to return home with a good result,” the Bangladesh captain added.
The Bangladesh boys earlier started their campaign with a 5-0 win over Timor-Leste, followed by victories against Brunei Darussalam (8-0), Sri Lanka (5-0) and Bahrain (2-1) to stay in contention for a place in the finals.
