Bangladesh Beat Bhutan 3-0 for Fourth Straight Win

Melbourne, July 18 — Hosts Bangladesh continued their dominant run in the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship, securing a convincing 3-0 victory over Bhutan on Thursday night at the Bashundhara Kings Arena training ground in Dhaka. The win marked Bangladesh’s fourth consecutive victory in the tournament, putting them firmly on course for the title.

Star striker Trishna Rani scored a brace, while substitute Swapna Rani added another to complete the scoreline.

Bangladesh head coach Peter Butler is using the tournament as a platform to experiment with squad depth. So far, he has fielded 22 out of the 23 players in the squad, offering valuable game time to nearly the entire team.

Bangladesh dominated possession from the outset, but struggled to find rhythm in midfield during the first half. In a tactical move, Coach Butler brought on Swapna Rani in the 29th minute, replacing Bannya Khatun. The substitution proved pivotal—just four minutes later, in the 33rd minute, Swapna split the Bhutanese defense with a brilliant pass that Trishna Rani calmly slotted into the net.

In the second half, Bangladesh made three more changes, bringing in Munki Akter, Umehla Marma, and Zaynab Bibi Rita, which added more firepower to the attack. Though Swapna missed a penalty in the 62nd minute, Trishna doubled the lead in the 66th minute with a clinical right-footed finish. Swapna redeemed herself in the 75th minute, scoring from long range to make it 3-0. Trishna had a late chance to complete her hat-trick but couldn’t convert.

With four wins in four matches, Bangladesh sits at the top of the points table with 12 points. Nepal remains in the title race as well, having thrashed Sri Lanka 7-0. Bangladesh will face Sri Lanka tomorrow, while Nepal takes on Bhutan. If both teams win, the clash between Bangladesh and Nepal on July 21 will effectively become the tournament’s title decider.