The Young Tigresses have made it into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 after a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek on Friday, October 17, 2025. This is India’s first-ever qualification in the tournament after winning the qualifiers as the top team in Group G with six points.
The team had last featured in the 2005 edition of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup as one of the 11 teams who participated directly. The tournament will be their first continental match of the U-17 age group.
Since the tournament started with the qualification system, India has never made it to the contention.
For India, the win was sealed from behind when head coach Joakim Alexandersson brought in Thandamoni Baskey as a substitution for Bonifilia Shullai in the 40th minute. India was almost near to defeat in the first half. But then came Anushka Kumari in the 66th minute, helping India seal their second score against Uzbekistan. It was Shakhzoda Alikhonova in the 38th minute who scored a goal for Uzbekistan.
AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026
The 21st edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup is scheduled to begin from March 1 to 21 across five venues in Australia across Perth, Sydney, and the Gold Coast. The opening game will be held in Perth; the Gold Coast Stadium will host the Republic of Korea vs. Islamic Republic of Iran match on March 2. Sydney will be staged for the final showdown, which is the finals game on March 21.
This time, China will be aiming to chase their 10th title, making their 16th appearance in the tournament. Japan, with the world’s No. 7 women’s ranking in FIFA, will face Chinese Taipei for their first game scheduled for March 4. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea returnsto the finals after 2010 with three titles won in 2001, 2003, and 2008.
From the Asian Cup, six teams, including four semi-finalists, will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Currently ranked at world no. 70, India has been set in Group C alongside Japan, Vietnam, and Chinese Taipei. Group A comprises Australia, the Republic of Korea, Iran, and the Philippines. Meanwhile, Group B has North Korea, China, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.
From March 1 to 10, group teams will compete against each other to reach the qualifiers match scheduled from March 13 to 15, but the last five days of the tournament will include the major matches.
