India can qualify for knockouts in the Women’s Asian Cup in the best possible group: Coach Crispin Chhetri

Women’s national football team coach Crispin Chettri is optimistic about India’s chances at the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia and has set his side the target of making the knockouts from a tough group.

He is so convinced that he already imagines himself in Brazil for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, hoping to make his belief a reality.

But before all that happens, Chettri and the Blue Tigresses will fly to Turkey to start their preparation for the continental tournament. There the team will play three matches against European clubs and compete against several national teams in the Turkish Women’s Cup.

After a stay of almost a month, the team will travel to Australia on February 10, where it hopes to play a few more matches against local opponents or other national teams participating in the tournament, ahead of the campaign opener on March 4.

In an exclusive conversation with Sports starsChettri spoke about his experience of watching players in the Indian Women’s League (IWL), the areas the team needs to focus on, and the importance of faith.

You were in Kolkata for the first phase of the IWL. Were you able to attend all the matches?

No, because the matches took place at different locations. And honestly, I also wanted to spend some time with my family during the holidays. I was able to watch about six to seven matches involving players like Sethu and East Bengal as most of the national team players are from there. Watching on TV is different.

When you’re on the field, you see the whole picture. The fact that the IWL took place was a plus for us. Yes, it was in a centralized location, but something happened (at least). “Instead of shouting at the darkness, light a candle.” So it was good for us.

I not only watched the matches, but also tried to attend their training sessions. I thought Garhwal United were the most interesting team of the season.

Are you satisfied with the level shown by the Indian players during the IWL? Are you satisfied with the number of matches played by the players in the run-up to the Asian Cup?

East Bengal had a very good number of matches. Let’s not talk about the IWL and SAFF club championship, but the number of teams and the quality they played in the AFC Champions League was amazing. It faced the Chinese Wuhan Jiangda FC, a quality team.

That will help me a lot. We also had a fair number of competitions in October and November. November was a little better because we had time to prepare.

Because in October we came back after three months. So we were rusty. Similarly, at IWL, the first few matches were rusty. Then the competition started flowing too. The momentum was there and everyone started to perform. Although the recovery time was very short, I was concerned about injuries. Fortunately, apart from Soumya (Guguloth) having a little problem, there are no injuries.

Have you spoken to the IWL team coaches about players and taken their input into the Asian Cup squad? In this regard, what were you planning to do in Calcutta?

I usually have a good conversation with most coaches. I only got one chance to talk to Garhwal. Otherwise, I spoke to Langam Chaoba Devi (Kickstart), Paromita Sit (NITA FA) and Manoj Joshi (Sethu FC).

I couldn’t interact with East Bengal as it was based in Kalyani. I spoke to Sujata Kar (Sribhumi FC) and Raman Vijayan (Gokulam Kerala). When it came to players, I spoke to Manoj the most because Sethu had a lot of national team players.

How are you doing in your mind with the selection for the Asian Cup? Are there any new faces you have noticed in the IWL that you think could be ready for a big stage like the Asian Cup?

There are three new faces who really impressed me: Sanfida Nongrum (Garhwal), Sushmita Lepcha and Sarita Yumnam. They are consistent, and we need that now. Kaviya Pakkirisamy from Sethu also did well. Priyadharshini Selladurai, who previously played in the Indian team and now plays for Gokulam, is also a talent.

Was there any frustration when the league coach had a delayed start during the Asian Cup year? What was the number of competitive matches you had in mind for the players before the Asian Cup?

We had to think about playing East Bengal in the AFC and SAFF tournaments because holding matches without this would not have helped the league. You only get better when you play with the best team. I know it was a little late, but like I said, I’m happy to light the candles.

In October we were allowed to play against a quality team in Iran. Unfortunately we could not go to North Macedonia in November due to visa problems. But in Dubai we played a few matches (India beat Banaat FC 3-1, beat Precision FC 8-1). Banaat FC, coached by former Arsenal player (Bacary Sagna), was a good match because the team had many foreign players.

Now we will have about eight to ten matches, and the main crucial phase is this about 45 days, which will help us build momentum. We shouldn’t worry about how big the team is; we have to play and try to be disciplined.

How much of a hit did that European tour take in November? The team played a few matches in Dubai. What did you learn from those matches and the Tri-Series in October, where you lost to Iran and Nepal?

It wasn’t a big blow because that time was a period of trial and error and we wanted to see new players. I was putting together a core team at the time, trying to understand my bench strength in case injuries occurred. Now I don’t know how that group of players will perform against good teams. The advantage, however, is that none of our Asian Cup opponents know what we did during that period because there is no video (laughs).

(Against Iran, Nepal) During that period I understood how important playing matches was because the rustiness was clearly visible. We can’t have such a long gap, especially in women’s football.

In Turkey, what are the areas you want to focus on so that the team can perform strongly in the Asian Cup?

The easiest area to improve is always defense, because finishing is an art. Countries like Japan, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei are far superior to us technically and tactically.

But the only thing where we can match and surpass them is in our organization and fitness. We will focus more on that and put on plays. We can score goals there and stuff. The Asian Cup is where we will showcase our strengths.

There is talk of bringing a foreign coach into the group. Have you discussed the appointment? What additional help can that coach provide to the players?

They asked me, and I said: no problem, getting help is always welcome. But someone coming so close to the tournament and understanding the players is quite difficult. There should be no conflict in coaching philosophies.

You have to be a decision maker, that person or us, who has been there from the beginning. Even if Pep Guardiola or Alex Ferguson come, they won’t be able to do anything in less than two months. But someone who comes to share their experiences and ideas will certainly help the team.

What do you think of your Asian Cup opponents, Japan, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei? What do you think the team needs to do to get past the group stage? What are your expectations for the Asian Cup?

I am convinced that we will qualify for the knockouts. When we talk about men’s football, there is a big gap. But here we can do it if we have the same attitude as against Thailand (in the qualifiers). I cannot say to Japan what will happen. But Vietnam and Chinese Taipei are beatable teams. This is the best possible group.

We must believe. Sometimes you have to imagine things to make them happen. If we didn’t imagine cell phones, they wouldn’t be a reality. So I imagine myself at the World Cup in Brazil.

Published on January 13, 2026