East Bengal FC could not have hoped for a better start to their AFC Women’s Champions League 2025/26 campaign.
Playing at the Hankou Cultural Sports Centre in Wuhan, the Indian champions delivered a composed, efficient and often dominant performance to defeat Iran’s Bam Khatoon FC 3-1 in their Group B opener on Monday. Goals from Shilky Hemam, Fazila Ikwaput and Resty Nanziri ensured the Moshal Girls opened their continental journey with all three points.
The tone of the match was set almost immediately. East Bengal showed urgency from the opening whistle, pressing high and looking to unlock space behind the Iranian backline. Their aggressive intent paid off in just the fourth minute. After two close-range attempts by Fazila Ikwaput were blocked inside the box, the loose ball rolled toward Shilky Hemam at the edge of the area. The midfielder stayed composed, keeping her body over the ball before driving a low strike into the bottom right corner. It was a clean finish, one that gave East Bengal an early advantage and filled the side with confidence.
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That early breakthrough allowed the IWL champions to take control of the rhythm of the first half. With Amnah Nababi orchestrating play from midfield and the wide players constantly stretching Bam Khatoon’s shape, East Bengal dictated possession and territory. The Iranian side struggled to build meaningful moves in the final third and was restricted to harmless attempts from long range. Sara Didar tried to test Panthoi Chanu with a speculative strike, while Fatemeh Geraeli also attempted a hopeful effort from distance, but neither troubled the East Bengal goalkeeper.
The Indian club’s dominance translated into a well-worked second goal at the 32-minute mark. Nababi, who had been scanning for gaps all evening, spotted Ikwaput making her trademark diagonal run between the Iranian centre-backs. With perfect weight and timing, Nababi slid through a measured pass that split the defence. Ikwaput controlled it beautifully with her first touch and calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Raha Yazdani to extend East Bengal’s lead to 2-0. It was a move that demonstrated both individual quality and collective understanding signs of a team settling quickly into continental competition.
East Bengal nearly added a third just minutes later. This time, it was Soumya Guguloth who created the opening with a sharp cut-back inside the six-yard box. Resty Nanziri arrived in space with the goal at her mercy but lifted her shot over the bar, letting Bam Khatoon off the hook. It was a rare miss in a half otherwise full of promise for the Indian side.
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As the first half neared its end, the Iranian club finally started to gain a foothold. A tame long-range effort from Geraeli in the 39th minute tested Panthoi, but the East Bengal keeper handled it comfortably. Yet the real shift came in added time, when a handball by Jyoti Chouhan inside the box gifted Bam Khatoon a penalty. Mona Hamoudi stepped up and calmly rolled the spot-kick home, pulling one goal back and giving her team hope heading into the break.
Bam Khatoon emerged for the second half with renewed determination. Their midfield pushed higher, and their forward line pressed more aggressively. Early after the restart, Fatemeh Pasandideh forced Panthoi into a tidy save with a shot from outside the area. Around the hour mark, Geraeli had another opportunity, this time from a free-kick, but her effort drifted harmlessly over the crossbar. Despite their improved energy, the Iranians still struggled to break down a well-organised East Bengal defence that kept its shape under pressure.
The Moshal Girls absorbed this period of increased Iranian possession before reasserting control in the final quarter of the match. In the 79th minute, Ikwaput came close to her second goal of the night, striking the inside of the right post after creating room for herself inside the box. Five minutes later, Yazdani denied the Ugandan forward again with a sharp low save as East Bengal pushed to put the game beyond reach.
Their persistence finally paid off in the 87th minute. Nanziri, who had been lively throughout the match despite her earlier miss, picked the ball up from distance and unleashed a stunning bending strike. The shot arced over the goalkeeper and nestled into the net a spectacular goal that sealed East Bengal’s victory and underlined their attacking depth. The 3-1 win marks a historic and confident entry for East Bengal into the AFC Women’s Champions League group stage.
With momentum on their side and their key players beginning the tournament in top form, the Moshal Girls have announced themselves as a team ready to compete at the highest level in Asia.
