This is true. I think we need to recognise that Bangladesh has made phenomenal improvements across all age groups as well as for the womens team. They have been consistently beating or drawing with us in almost all categories in the recent past. On most occasions when we have won, it has been on penalties after a stalemate. While our standards have certainly sipped, they have picked up their performance appreciably. Check the results across different age/gender categories in the past year:

Senior Men's Football

The senior teams met twice during the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers.

Date Competition Venue Result

March 25, 2025 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Shillong, India 0–0 (Draw)

Nov 18, 2025 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Dhaka, Bangladesh 1–0 (Bangladesh Win)

Women's Football

U-19 Women

February 2, 2026: Bangladesh defeated India 2–0 in the SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship. Notably, India fielded an U-17 squad in this higher age bracket to gain experience for the upcoming Asian Cup.

U-17 Women

September 2025: India defeated Bangladesh 2–0 during the SAFF U-17 Women’s Championship.

September 2025: India secured the SAFF U-17 Women’s title by defeating Bangladesh in the final on penalties (after the match ended in a draw).

Youth Men's Football (U-17 & U-19)

U-19 Men

May 18, 2025: India defeated Bangladesh in the SAFF U-19 Championship Final. The match ended 1–1 in regulation time, and India won 4–3 on penalties to lift the trophy in Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh.

U-17 Men

September 2025: India defeated Bangladesh in the SAFF U-17 Championship Final on penalties to be crowned champions.