India’s U-17 women’s national football team have booked their spot in the finals of the 2026 SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship. On Wednesday, February 4, the Young Tigresses defeated Bhutan in a comfortable victory to win the semi-finals match by 8-0 held at the Pokhara Rangasala in Nepal.
With the win, India will next face Bangladesh in the finals, who secured their semi-finals win over Nepal by 4-0. Pearl Fernandes scored a hat-trick, while Player of the Match Pritika Barman added two goals. Alisha Lyngdoh, Abhista Basnett, and Divyani Linda each scored one goal for India.
The Young Tigresses were strong-headed in the start and went on to secure the lead in the sixth minute through Alisha Lyngdoh. Four minutes later, Abhista Basnett goes on to double the score, and India follows with a series of goals. Before half-time, Pearl Fernandes scored her hat-trick, while Divyani Linda and Pritika Barman also added one each to the score.
The Indian team was now at a 7-0 lead by half-time. Ahead in the race, Barman got her second goal while adding eight for the team. Bhutan faced a bit challenge as they were unable to score a goal throughout the match and could not get past India’s dominant performance. With the win, the Young Tigresses took Indian to a second-place finish on the table rankings with six points scored from three wins. Meanwhile, Bhutan have been left at the bottom with no points achieved.
On the other hand, Bangladesh are the table topper finishing as the No. 1 in the leaderboard with nine points. Nepal, the host team, ended their campaign as the third-place finishers with three points.
With that, the top two teams, India and Bangladesh, will face each other in the finals scheduled on Saturday, February 7. Meanwhile, India’s U-17 team women’s football team’s participation in a higher age-group event like the SAFF U-19 Championship serves as part of their preparation for the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026.
The Young Tigresses have qualified for the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 after securing a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek on Friday, October 17, 2025. India last featured in the 2005 edition of the tournament and is among the 11 teams to make their direct entry. The tournament will, however, be the first continental match of the U-17 age group.
