India face Mongolia as AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers begin in Thailand

India begin their AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers against Mongolia in Chiang Mai on June 23. With a youthful squad and tactical focus, coach Crispin Chettri eyes historic qualification for the tournament via the qualifiers for the first time.

Hyderabad: The Indian senior women’s team will kick off their AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers campaign in the north Thai city of Chiang Mai from June 23 when it takes on Mongolia.

India last made it to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2003. And when they hosted the tournament in 2022, a COVID outbreak in the team meant that India had to withdraw after only the first game and the results were declared void.

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Head coach Crispin Chettri and his Blue Tigresses landed in Thailand on June 16, their only goal was to earn that ticket to Australia and become the first Indian squad to qualify for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup via the qualifiers’ route.

While India do have three podium finishes in the erstwhile Asian Women’s Championship (runners-up in 1980 and 1983, and third place in 1981), this is the time to create new history in the 21st century.

India (ranked 70th) will face Mongolia (ranked 126th) on June 23, Timor Leste (ranked 158th) on June 29, Iraq (ranked 173rd) on July 2 and hosts Thailand (ranked 46th) on July 5, at the 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium. Only the group winners will qualify for the final tournament in Australia in March 2026. The AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 will also serve as a qualifier for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027.

Apart from Thailand, India have never faced the other three Group B opponents before.

“We don’t have much information about Mongolia, Timor Leste and Iraq. They haven’t played any matches recently. We do know a bit about Thailand. They played two games against Nepal in the last window, and one of them was closed doors,” said Chettri.

“I tried different variations in our friendlies (against Uzbekistan). I tested many combinations in midfield, involving Sangita (Basfore), Karthika (Angamuthu), Ratanbala (Nongmaithem), Grace (Dangmei) and Anju (Tamang).”

With an average age of just 23.6 years, Chettri has named a fairly young squad consisting of a lot of newcomers. But that’s not to say there’s a dearth of experience. For a Malavika, there’s a Dangmei Grace, for a Priyadharshini, there’s an Anju Tamang, for a Phanjoubam Nirmala Devi, there’s a Ngangbam Sweety Devi.

“We have a very good mix of youth and experience. We had 18-year-old goalkeeper Monalisha (Moirangthem) debut against Uzbekistan. I’m not scared to play with youngsters because this is how they are going to gain experience. And playing such important AFC matches will help us grow,” said Chettri.

“We’re done working on the physical aspects now. We’re focusing on patterns and set pieces every day, whether it’s defending or attacking. We’ll also know more about the opponents as the qualifiers progress,” said Chettri.