Bangladesh has been drawn into a challenging group alongside nine-time champions China and three-time champions North Korea for the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, scheduled to take place in Australia next March. The other team in the group is Uzbekistan.
The official draw was held today at Sydney Town Hall, with captains and coaches from all participating teams in attendance.
However, no representative from Bangladesh — who made history by qualifying for the tournament’s final round for the first time — was present at the event.
China remains the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having won the title nine times out of 14 appearances since 1986.
Bangladesh, coached by Peter Butler, will face China in their opening match on March 3. On March 6, Bangladesh will go up against North Korea, currently ranked ninth in the world. North Korea has participated in the tournament 10 times and won the title in 2001, 2003, and 2008.
Uzbekistan, Bangladesh’s final group opponent, has featured in the tournament five times but never progressed beyond the group stage. The two sides will meet on March 9 in the last group game.
The 21st edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup will run from March 1 to 21, 2026, across five venues in Australia. A total of 12 teams will compete, divided into three groups of four.
The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will advance to the quarterfinals.
Reaching the last eight will also offer teams a shot at qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Bangladesh’s path to qualification was historic. After failing to win a single match in the 2014 and 2022 editions, the women’s team dominated the qualifiers held in Myanmar from June 29 to July 5. They began with a stunning 7–0 victory over Bahrain, a team ranked 36 places higher.
This was followed by a 2–1 win against hosts Myanmar, who are ranked 73 places ahead of Bangladesh. With those two wins, Bangladesh secured qualification before their final match, where they convincingly defeated Turkmenistan 7–0.
Prior to this, Bangladesh had only one appearance at the AFC Asian Cup — by the men’s team back in 1980 in Kuwait. This marks a major milestone for women’s football in the country.
