Bangladesh, under experienced English head coach Peter Butler, looked to exploit Bahrain's lack of pace in defence at every opportunity and the approach paid quick dividends.

The lofted ball in the 10th minute saw Shamsunnahar bursting away and with Bahrain custodian Khulood Abdulla slow to close down the space, the midfielder easily slotted home the opener.

Bangladesh doubled their lead six minutes later with a similar move, this time a diagonal pass to the left saw Ritu Porna peeling away from Fatema Alnesuf, coolly controlling the ball and then rifling it past Abdulla from just inside the box.

The South Asian side continued to search for goals and were rewarded with three more before the break through Kohati Kisku (40th) and Tohura Khatun (45th+2, 45th+4) for a handsome half-time lead.

Bahrain regrouped to perform better in the second half but were still unable to prevent Bangladesh from adding to the scoreline.

Rawan Alali scored an own goal in the 60th minute when trying to clear Shamsunnahar’s attempt before Most Munki put the seal on a vibrant Bangladesh performance with a silky solo goal 14 minutes later.