India reach AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup quarter-finals for first time

India created history by reaching the quarter-finals of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time after defeating Lebanon 4-0 in Suzhou, China. The Young Tigresses are now one win away from qualifying for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup

Hyderabad: The final whistle had barely faded when Pamela Conti found herself surrounded by her players. One after another, the Young Tigresses rushed towards their head coach, hugging her, chanting around her and even trying to lift her into the air in celebration after India scripted history by reaching the quarter-finals of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup in Suzhou, China, for the first time.

In that moment, as the emotions of months of hard work and belief came pouring out from the group around her, tears filled the Italian’s eyes.

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For a team that had spent more than three months training together, often twice a day, the 4-0 victory over Lebanon was more than just three points. It placed India among the top eight teams in Asia and moved the Young Tigresses to within one match of a place in the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026. No Indian women’s team has ever been one win away from qualifying for a FIFA World Cup on merit.

“It is an incredible achievement,” Conti told the-aiff.com
after the historic result. “Nobody believed it was possible, but from the very first moment, I believed that if we trained differently, we could achieve what we have done.

“I am very happy. There are hardly enough words to describe it. I am only grateful to these players, who from day one have always followed everything we asked of them.”

India’s qualification came after a commanding performance against Lebanon, where the Young Tigresses attacked with confidence and clarity from the opening whistle. Pritika Barman scored twice, while Alva Devi Senjam and Joya added the other goals in a dominant display.

Conti was particularly pleased with the intent her side showed throughout the contest.

“We played an incredible match. Honestly, 4-0 is even a narrow result because we could have scored more goals. What I really liked was the team’s desire to press high, to keep looking for goals, and the very important tactical organisation we showed.

“But the most important thing was qualifying for the knockout stage, and I am extremely happy about that.”