Can Bangladesh Make It to the Asian Cup? Here’s What They

Bangladesh still has a chance to play in the Asian Cup, but the road won’t be easy. This article explains the steps they need to take, how the qualifiers work, and what fans can expect in the coming matches.

Bangladesh Aims for 2027 Asian Cup After Long Wait

Bangladesh is dreaming big! After 47 years, the country wants to return to the main stage of the AFC Asian Cup. Their last appearance was in 1980. Now, with new energy and some overseas-born players, fans are hopeful. Can Hamza Chowdhury and the team make it to the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia?

What Bangladesh Needs to Do

Bangladesh is now in the third round of the qualifiers. To qualify, they must win their group. This round doesn’t include Asia’s strongest teams they’ve already qualified. But even then, tiger must beat teams that are ranked higher than them.

Here’s how the FIFA rankings look:

Team	FIFA Ranking
India	127
Hong Kong	153
Singapore	161
Bangladesh	183

Still, Bangladesh showed they can fight. In March 2024, they drew 0–0 with India, who were ranked much higher.

How the Asian Cup Qualifiers Work

A total of 24 teams will play in the 2027 Asian Cup. Here’s how qualification works:

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia qualifies automatically as the host.
18 teams already qualified through the World Cup qualifiers (Rounds 1 & 2).
The remaining 6 teams will come from the third round.

In this third round:

24 teams are split into 6 groups.
Only the group winners will qualify for the Asian Cup.

Bangladesh’s Road to the Third Round

First Round vs Maldives:

Match	Date	Result
First Leg (Male)	12 Oct 2023	1–1 Draw
Second Leg (Dhaka)	17 Oct 2023	2–1 Win (3–2 on aggregate)

Second Round Performance (Group I):

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
16 Nov 2022	Australia	Melbourne	0–7 L
21 Nov 2022	Lebanon	Dhaka	1–1 D
21 Mar 2024	Palestine	Kuwait City	0–5 L
26 Mar 2024	Palestine	Dhaka	0–1 L
6 Jun 2024	Australia	Dhaka	0–2 L
11 Jun 2024	Lebanon	Al Rayyan (Qatar)	0–4 L