India takes on a higher ranked Thailand with the location on the line of Women’s Asian Cup 2026 on the line

After more than two months of continuous toil and three victories in the group so far, India will compete against Thailand for a place in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 at the 700 -year anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium on Saturday.

India has never reached the AFC Women’s Asian Cup via the qualifications route. The blue tiger rings made the top phase of the continent for the last time in 2003 when there were no qualifications. India participated in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 as a host, but had to withdraw because of a Covid outbreak in the team.

«Qualification at the moment would be a huge boost for Indian football in general,» said coach Crispin Chettri.

«We are currently going through a challenging phase, and the qualification of the women’s team would really offer a spark of hope. It would also help the women’s match grow in India. More young players would be inspired to take football professionally. For those who are already in the national team, it would be a chance to see the best teams in Asia.

Although Thailand is in 46th place, 24 places above India, there has been no difference in the qualifications so far. The Blue Tigresses laid Mongolia 13-0, Timor Leste 4-0 and Iraq 5-0, while the Chabakaew won the same opponents 11-0, 4-0 and 7-0 respectively.

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That leaves both parties with a target difference of +22 and puts a knockout collision in all respects. Only a victory is sufficient, and if there is no separation after 90 minutes, the ticket to Australia is distributed after punishment.

Chettri knows that this challenge is greater than that earlier, but confirms that the mentality must remain the same.

«I think we should maintain the same mindset that we had during the tournament, from the Mongolia game to now. We have not taken a team of lightly, and we have worked hard on training for every game. The same applies to Thailand. Yes, they are a stronger side and earn full respect, and for us, the execution of what we have achieved,» said Checkers said. «

«The mentality is clear to us. We want to finish the game within 90 minutes. We are not approaching to think about punishments. We are preparing to win in the regulation time and will play with that intention from the start. Be overly defensive or waiting for fines is not how we want to approach this game,» he added.

Coached by the Japanese Futoshi Ikeda, Thailand focuses on his 10th consecutive qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. The Chabakaew has also achieved two FIFA World Cups from FIFA (2015 and 2019). And although India never succeeded in beating Thailand in history, Sangita believes that there is no better time than now.