India’s women U17 football team head coach Joakim Alexandersson has announced a 23-member squad for the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026 Qualifiers. The qualifier matches are scheduled to be held from October 13 to 17 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The Indian team, or the Young Tigresses, has been placed in Group G, which has three teams. They will first play against the Kyrgyz Republic on October 13, followed by the match against Uzbekistan to be played on October 17. Both the scheduled games will be played at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium at 18:30 IST. The group winners will then qualify ahead for the 12-team tournament to be held in China next year.
Six days ahead of the tournament, the Indian women’s squad arrived in Bishkek on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, in order to adapt to the totally different weather conditions in the Kyrgyz capital, which is relatively cooler.
Earlier, the Young Tigresses won the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U17 Women’s Championship back in August in Bhutan. They then started their preparations, training at their Bengaluru camp first but later decided to shift their base to Goa.
Alongside head coach Joakim Alexandersson will be assistant coach Nivetha Ramadoss with the team. Young Tigresses’ goalkeeping coach is Dipankar Choudhury, and the strength and conditioning coach is Anugrah Suresh.
Head Coach on heading clear for the Asia Cup qualifiers
India’s win at the SAFF U17 tournament finals against Bangladesh on August 31, 2025, at the Changlimithang Stadium has given the team the needed confidence, which the head coach himself admires, especially with players possessing good qualities on the field.
Head coach Alexandersson says, “In this SAFF, we have been the best team at pressing the opponents, winning the ball in good situations, and creating scoring opportunities from that. We have a lot of good quality players in this squad. The combination has been the key.”
“The goals and clean sheets give us the feeling that it takes a lot for the opponents to score against us. It’s a big positive heading into the Asian qualifiers. However, going into the qualifiers, our success here is very valuable, knowing that we are very strong in both attack and defence,” he added.
India’s 23-member squad for U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026 Qualifiers
Goalkeepers: Munni, Surajmuni Kumari, Thameena Fathima.
Defenders: Alena Devi Sarangthem, Alisha Lyngdoh, Binita Horo, Divyani Linda, Elizabed Lakra, Joyshini Chanu Huidrom, Ritu Badaik, Taniya Devi Tonambam.
Midfielders: Abhista Basnett, Anita Dungdung, Bonifilia Shullai, Julan Nongmaithem, Pritika Barman, Shveta Rani, Thandamoni Baskey.
Forwards: Anushka Kumari, Anwita Raghuraman, Nira Chanu Longjam, Pearl Fernandes, Valaina Fernandes.
· Inputs sourced from [AIFF]
· Quotes sourced from [AIFF]
