Iran finished top of Group H of the AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers at the cost of Bangladesh at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mustafa Kamal Stadium in the capital's Kamalapur Sunday.
The deciding match ended in a goalless position in the first half. Iranian forward Negin Zandi scored the winner in the 85th minute (1-0) after Bangladesh spoiled some good opportunities to score goals.
Iran, the No. 68 team in the current FIFA ranking, topped Group H with an unbeaten run to qualify for the second round of the competition, securing six points from two straight matches. Bangladesh, ranked No. 140, were eliminated from the competition after finishing runners-up with three points from two matches.
Iran just needed a draw to top their group after crushing Turkmenistan 7-1 in the opening match. Bangladesh beat Turkmenistan 4-0.
This was the first defeat for Bangladesh against Iran in an age group football tournament following their 2-0 win against the Middle Eastern team in the AFC U-14 regional championship in Nepal in 2015.
Bangladesh also beat Iran 3-0 in the AFC U-16 tournament in Dhaka in 2016 and 8-0 in a U-15 football tournament in Thailand in 2018.
The second round of the tournament, with eight group champions, will be held during June 1-11.
Four teams from the second round will earn the right to play in the eight-team final round in Uzbekistan during March 3-16 next year along with Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the hosts.