Women’s team for AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers announced

The final squad of 23 players for the Qualifiers will be confirmed before the first match. 

Hyderabad: The Indian senior women’s team head coach, Crispin Chettri, on Monday, announced a 24-member travelling squad to Thailand for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers.

The final squad of 23 players for the Qualifiers will be confirmed before the first match.

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The Blue Tigresses are placed in Group B of the Qualifiers, where they will face Mongolia (June 23), Timor Leste (June 29), Iraq (July 2) and hosts Thailand (July 5).  The group winners will qualify for the final tournament in Australia in March 2026. The Women’s Asian Cup also serves as a qualifier for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027.

The Blue Tigresses camped at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru for six weeks, and as part of their preparations for the Qualifiers, played two friendlies against Uzbekistan on May 30 and June 3, losing 0-1 on both occasions.

“I was happy with the preparations in Bengaluru,” said Chettri. “We trained for more than 40 days. The training ground and all the facilities were excellent. As far as the squad is concerned, we have a good mixture of young and senior players,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we had to let go of forwards like Karishma (Shirvoikar), Sandhiya (Ranganathan) and Renu due to injuries. But that’s part and parcel of football. And as compared to the Pink Ladies Cup squad (in February), we have more experienced players with us now,” Chettri said.

The team: Goalkeepers: Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, Moirangthem Monalisha Devi, Payal Basude.

Defenders: Hemam Shilky Devi, Kiran Pisda, Martina Thokchom, Ngangbam Sweety Devi, Phanjoubam Nirmala Devi, Purnima Kumari, Sanju, Sorokhaibam Ranjana Chanu.
Midfielders: Anju Tamang, Grace Dangmei, Karthika Angamuthu, Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi, Priyadharshini Selladurai, Sangita Basfore.
Forwards: Lynda Kom Serto, Malavika P, Manisha Kalyan, Manisha Naik, Pyari Xaxa, Rimpa Haldar, Soumya Guguloth.

Head Coach: Crispin Chettri
Assistant Coach: Priya PV
Assistant Coach: Nivetha Ramadoss
Goalkeeper Coach: Mario Luis Aguiar
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Chelston Pinto

AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers Group B Schedule:

June 23: Mongolia vs India (14:30 IST)
June 29: India vs Timor Leste (14:30 IST)
July 2: India vs Iraq (14:30 IST)
July 5: Thailand vs India (18:00 IST)

Venue: 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Live stream: Thai Women’s Football Facebook Page and Changsuek YouTube Channel

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