China's defending champion wins easily in Asian Cup opener

The Chinese women's team encountered minimal challenges while securing a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh in their first match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup finals.

The Chinese women's team made a positive start to their title defense campaign with a 2-0 win against debutants Bangladesh in a Group B match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 at Western Sydney Stadium.

Two first-half goals helped the nine-time champions begin with a victory, joining the North Korean women's team—who defeated Uzbekistan 3-0 earlier—as the group leaders.

China started proactively with a series of early attacks. Liu Jing tried her luck with a volley from outside the box that narrowly missed the post before shooting straight at goalkeeper Mile Akter. In the 12th minute, Wang Aifang set up Wang Shuang for a shot inside the area, but Akter made an excellent save, and the subsequent header rebounded off the post.

Bangladesh responded with sharp counterattacks. In the 14th minute, Ritu Porna Chakma broke the offside trap and attempted a lob from nearly 30 meters, forcing Chen Chen to retreat and clear. China thought they had taken the lead in the 24th minute when Wang Shuang headed home, but VAR ruled a teammate was offside in the buildup, disallowing the goal.

Sustained pressure finally paid off for the East Asian side. In the 44th minute, Wang Shuang capitalized on Zhang Chengxue's pass, firing a dangerous left-footed shot into the top corner to open the scoring. Just at the start of stoppage time, Akter's unconvincing punch allowed Zhang Rui to finish and extend the lead to 2-0.

After the break, Bangladesh played with more effort but failed to create breakthroughs. China controlled the game, repeatedly threatening from set-pieces. Although Zhang Xin later hit the crossbar late in the match, the 2-0 victory belonged to China in a dominant performance.

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