Iyangon [Myanmar], August 6 (ANI): India will kick off their AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand 2026 Qualifiers marketing campaign in Group D in opposition to Indonesia on Wednesday on the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon, with kickoff scheduled for 18:00 IST.
India will goal to qualify for the U20 Women’s Asian Cup, a match that is additionally a qualifier for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, for the fourth time. Led by Swedish head coach Joakim Alexandersson, the Young Tigresses can finish a 20-year absence from the competitors, having final certified in 2006. In the 2024 qualifiers, India have been eradicated within the first spherical by the narrowest of margins, on objective distinction, by Vietnam. Coincidentally, India met Indonesia in these qualifiers as properly, and registered a thumping 6-0 win.
Speaking on the pre-match press convention on Tuesday, Alexandersson expressed his positivity about India’s qualifying possibilities in a aggressive group.
‘We ready for these Qualifiers with a camp of greater than two months in good amenities and an excellent coaching floor in Bengaluru. Our expectations listed below are to qualify, after all. We know it’ll be three powerful video games and the mindset is to win all three and make it to the Asian Cup,’ mentioned the Swede as quoted by the AIFF press launch.
After Indonesia, India will play Turkmenistan (August 8) and host Myanmar (August 10). The group winners and the three finest second-placed groups throughout all eight teams will qualify for the ultimate match.
‘We’ve appeared into our opponents. We know Myanmar are an excellent group in Asian soccer and are purported to be our strongest opponents. Indonesia have a powerful squad as properly. Every sport will likely be a special problem for us to face. We must care for them,’ Alexandersson added.
The Young Tigresses arrived in Yangon on August 1, 5 days earlier than their first sport, to acclimatise to the circumstances in Myanmar. The temper within the camp is constructive, extra so after the stable 4-1 win over Uzbekistan in a preparatory pleasant in Tashkent final month.
Defender Shubhangi Singh, who captained India within the friendlies and also will put on the armband in Myanmar, mentioned, ‘Thanks to our federation, we got here to Yangon 5 days earlier than the sport, which was good for us to adapt to the climate. We’re going to take issues match by match. We respect all opponents however we aren’t afraid of anybody. We are assured and our goal is to qualify for the Asian Cup.’
As a part of their preparations, Indonesia performed the ASEAN U19 Women’s Championship in June, the place they completed third. They beat Malaysia 4-0, drew 1-1 with Cambodia, and suffered heavy losses to Thailand (1-6) and Vietnam (0-4), earlier than in the end defeating Myanmar on penalties to win bronze.
Indonesia’s Japanese head coach Akira Higashiyama mentioned, ‘We are prepared for the Qualifiers. Everyone has an opportunity to win on this aggressive group. We know India are fairly sturdy, however we’re absolutely focussed and able to face them tomorrow. Our goal is to benefit from the video games.’ (ANI)