India’s senior national women’s football team has appointed their new head coach ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026. Costa Rican Amelia Valverde has already joined the national team camp on Monday, January 19, for the Türkiye friendlies before the team begins their Asia Cup campaign in Perth. Impressed by Blue Tigresses progress, Valverde is positive in taking on the challenge of leading them to their maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification this time.
Following the news of her appointment, Valverde sat down in an interview with aiff.com and talked about the potential the Indian senior women’s team carries and the preparation the team is undergoing currently for their Asia Women’s Cup 2026 participation.
“It is a very respectful group we have, and you can see that it is a group that has already been working. The players understand the importance of this. From my side, I have tried to get to know them as much as possible, gather as much information as I can about the players, learn about their history, and of course about the staff as well. The key right now is to create that synergy as quickly as possible.”
Valverde further discussed the possibilities of the Blue Tigresses qualification in the World Cup and is coming quite confident with the kind of performances the team has showcased, including their victory over Thailand in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers on July 5, 2025. The Blue Tigresses defeated Thailand by 2-0 to earn their spot in the Asia Cup Australia 2026.
“I closely follow World Cup qualification processes across different confederations, and I was already aware of the very good progress India made in Thailand last year. When I had my first contact, I started gathering more information. I believe the country is making an important effort to grow the national team and giving players, even those who may not be fully professional, experiences closer to high-level competition,” Valverde added.
India created history after the Blue Tigresses earned their first-ever qualification in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026. The team had last appeared in the 2003 edition, but there was no concept of qualifiers at that time. In 2022, the team participated as hosts but had to withdraw from the tournament due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This year, the team has achieved its spot through intense hard work and merit.
