Bangladesh's women's football team open their Asian Games campaign against North Korea on Monday, with head coach Peter Butler admitting the side face an extremely difficult task against one of Asian football's genuine powerhouses.

The match kicks off at 1pm Bangladesh time at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, part of a tournament being held in Aichi Nagoya, Japan, though the football competition begins a full five days before the Games' official opening ceremony on September 19.

Speaking at Sunday's pre match press conference, Butler was clear eyed about the scale of the challenge his young squad faces in Group F alongside North Korea, South Korea and Myanmar.

"I think in general we've come here with realistic ambitions, knowing full well that we're playing in a tournament and a group blessed with two of the strongest teams in Asian football, North Korea and South Korea, not forgetting Myanmar, who are ranked higher than us as well," he said.

"So I'm under no illusions, it's going to be very tough, but we're here to enjoy it. I've brought a group of girls, a mixture of young players, and I'm going to give some young girls games. Irrespective of the outcome, irrespective of the results, we're here to experience, learn and grow from the opportunities presented in front of us," he added.

Bangladesh have faced North Korea before, losing 5-0 in the group stage of March's AFC Women's Asian Cup, their first ever appearance at that tournament.

Butler reflected on that earlier meeting as valuable groundwork for his young players despite the scoreline.

"We played them last time in the Asia Cup and we got beaten 5-0. We didn't play that well, but it was a great learning experience for our young girls," he said, framing Monday's rematch in similarly pragmatic terms.

Butler also praised the standard of preparation his squad had received in Japan so far, despite the challenge awaiting them on the pitch.

"No, the hospitality has been really good, so I have no complaints. It's all positive. I think unfortunately the stadium won't be full, but I think the girls will really enjoy playing on that pitch and pitting their wits against Korea," he said.

Discussing North Korea's quality specifically, Butler acknowledged the gulf in resources and development between the two footballing nations.

"We're playing against a Korean team which is blessed with really good players, well funded, well resourced. You only have to look at their record over the years of development and growth within the game in Korea. They're extremely well respected, and I for one have a great deal of respect for how they go about their business," he said.

Rather than framing success purely around results, Butler said the emphasis for his squad lay elsewhere given the structural challenges facing women's football in Bangladesh.

"I think the expectation is more credibility than result oriented, and we have to be realistic, we don't have a league, and we have to be honest and pragmatic about what we hope for, what we wish for. What we do wish for is credibility, good performances, some positive performances, and let's see where that takes us with regard to the last game, which is against Myanmar," he said.

Bangladesh have some recent history against Myanmar to draw hope from, having beaten them during qualifying for last year's Asian Cup main round.

The top two teams from each group advance directly to the quarter finals, with the two best third placed sides across all groups also progressing, leaving Bangladesh a realistic path forward depending on results elsewhere.

This marks only the second appearance for Bangladesh's women in the Asian Games football competition, having endured a difficult debut in Hangzhou in 2023, where the side finished with two defeats and a draw across their group stage matches.