Women’s football team face ranking setback

After making headlines in August for a remarkable 24-place jump in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, Bangladesh women's team now slipped backwards.

In the latest FIFA update released Thursday, Peter Butler’s side dropped eight spots—from 104 to 112.

The decline, however, was largely expected. Bangladesh played four matches across the October and November FIFA windows—losing all four. In October, they suffered back-to-back defeats against Thailand, falling 3–0 in the first match and 5–1 in the second.

In November, Bangladesh hosted a Tri-Nation Series featuring Malaysia and Azerbaijan. The home side lost 1–0 to Malaysia in the opening match, and despite showing promise against European side Azerbaijan, they still ended up with a 2–1 defeat. The four consecutive losses cost Bangladesh a total of 12 rating points.

Bangladesh will make their historic debut at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next March in Australia. They have been placed in Group B alongside China, North Korea, and Uzbekistan. Among the three opponents, North Korea sit highest at 9th in the world rankings, while Uzbekistan stand 49th—three places above their previous position. China, the most successful team in the tournament’s history, currently sit 17th, one spot lower than before.