Bangladesh U-17 national football team. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, Nov 22, 2025 (BSS) - Bangladesh U-17 national football made flying start in the 2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers crushing Timor-Leste by 5-0 goals in opening group A match held at Tongliang Long Stadium, Chongqing, China today.

The early breakthrough came for Bangladesh in the 11th minute. Rifat Kazi opened the net for Bangladesh with a header of a cross from Manik on the left flank.

Manik doubled the lead scoring the second goal for Bangladesh in the 28th minute with a left-footed shot from the vantage position utilizing a free kick from Faysal.

The third goal came for Bangladesh in the 43rd minute as Manik scored his second and third for team from the goal-mouth melee.  

After the resumption, Bangladesh continued their onslaught and added two more goals in the second half. 

Bayzit Bostami controlled the ball and finished confidently to make the score line 4-0 off a well-times pass from Azad and Akash Ahmed completed the tally with a stunning long-range shot in the 88th minute.

Bangladesh created numerous chances throughout the match, with several attempts narrowly missing, including some that struck the goalpost.

Bangladesh, which has been placed tough group A along with host China, Bahrain, Brunei, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste, will play their second group match against Brunei on Monday (Nov 24), Sri Lanka on November 26, Bahrain on November 28 and meet host China in their ultimate group match on November 30.

Seven group champions will secure places in the 16-team finals, joining hosts Saudi Arabia and eight other nations who have already qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Over the last nineteen years, Bangladesh's best performances have been group runners-up finishes in 2017 and 2022. On both occasions, they came close to reach as one of the six best runners-up but ultimately fell short.