What went wrong for India in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup?

If there has been one faction in Indian football in the last twenty-four months that has kept the national team’s football on fire, it has been women’s football.

After securing AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualification in the senior and age categories, and a first senior Asian Cup qualification on merit, women’s football in India appeared to have found its voice.

During the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, a historic qualification for the FIFA World Cup loomed, but just then hopes collapsed. Three group stage defeats, 16 goals conceded and an early exit: India’s historic qualifying round was overshadowed by a forgettable group stage.

This wasn’t just a loss on the field; it was an accurate representation of the state of affairs in the Indian football ecosystem: a fractured domestic league structure, late appointments and poor management: pandemonium packaged under the brand of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The Blue Tigresses qualified for the Asian Cup on July 5 and the AIFF promised that a competitive calendar that would include the Indian Women’s League (IWL) would start earlier than planned, in September instead of October.

“The earlier than usual scheduling would allow sufficient preparation time ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup scheduled from March 1 to 21, 2026,” the AIFF said in a statement.

«In addition, the Blue Tigers will undergo 83 days of preparatory camps, conducted in three phases. This will include 10 to 12 international friendlies and five to seven matches with domestic teams.»

The competition started in December, three months later, and, contrary to plans, the India U-20 team – which was also scheduled to participate in the Asian Cup – did not participate in the competition.

And India played three international friendlies, instead of the 10-12 that the AIFF toppled. The team’s visas for a tour of North Macedonia fell through, and while the Federation didn’t have much say in the visas, there was no plan B.

The team’s next international matches were against Japan, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei, all of whom have previously played in the FIFA World Cup.

Football is never just about the shouting from the sidelines at the weekend; it is the quiet preparations and good planning on Monday and Tuesday mornings. The AIFF probably skipped that chapter.

Then came the appointment of the coach: Amelia Valverde, a World Cup-tested, experienced tactician from Costa Rica. Valverde had led the Costa Rican women’s team in two World Cups and arrived with a rich CV. But you see, the AIFF had skipped another chapter here: timing.

A team that had been shaped and built over 48 weeks around Crispin Chhetri’s plans had six weeks to get used to a new coach and new tactics, and still emerge at the Asian Cup as a smoothly oiled engine.

Let’s compare it with Japan. Nils Nielsen was appointed in December 2024, while Vietnam manager Mai Duc Chung has worked with the women’s team in various capacities over the past decade.

India lost 1-2 to Vietnam and were dismantled by Japan in an 11-0 demolition job.

The final nail in the coffin came in the form of ill-fitting sweaters. Days before the tournament started, the Indian team received jerseys that did not fit properly, with at least 80 percent of the players feeling uncomfortable in the kits provided.

The equipment was hastily changed, but what about the dented morale and the shame of embarrassment on foreign soil? cdso.

As if this were not enough, the problems on the field started with injuries: India lost one of its key attacking midfielders, Anju Tamang, before the tournament, and the captain, Sweety Devi, the tournament’s best Indian defender, played all matches with heavily taped knees.

If off-field planning was chaotic, execution followed suit.

At the Asian Cup, India started in the 4-4-2 shape, different from Valverde’s favored 3-4-3 formation, but the flanks were left completely exposed: Vietnam scored three goals, including one disallowed for offside, and all three were built up through the flanks.

Against Japan in the second game, nine of the eleven goals came through the build-up along the flanks. Wingers like Sanju Yadav and Nirmala Devi Phanjoubam will have to take a long hard look at themselves, and that includes Valverde, who managed to correct the same mistake not once but three times in a row.

Goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu Elangbam, who had denied the opponent 20 scoring chances, and Sweety fought bravely, but football is a team game. Twelve of India’s 16 goals conceded during the tournament came from attacking through the flanks, areas beyond their reach.

Up front, Pyari

Sangita Basfore, India’s star in the qualifying campaign, remained invisible except for a long-range strike against Vietnam in the opening match.

Losing balls cheaply in the Indian half, lack of communication and lack of intention only made matters worse.

Amid the shambles, however, there were also some positives from the campaign.

India scored two goals in the tournament, including a stunning free-kick from Manisha Kalyan, easily India’s best player on the field.

Manisha is the only national team to regularly play in a foreign league – top Peruvian club Alianza Lima – while several other national team members have played in foreign competitions.

Soumya Guguloth finished runners-up with Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia in 2022-2023, Grace Dangmei won the Uzbekistan Women’s League with Sevinch Karshi in 2022, while goalkeeper Panthoi played for Australian second division club Metro United, and Aveka Singh still plays for Danish second division club Næstved HG.

More Indian players have moved to foreign shores: Kajol D’Souza (Al-Amal, UAE), Rivka Ramji (Lion City Sailors, Singapore) and Harshika Jain (ACS Atletic Olimpia Gherla, Romania).

It is possible that the winds may be changing in India, and Valverde, given her experience despite recent disappointment, is a step in the right direction.

The Costa Rican played an important role in professionalizing women’s football in her country and can also transform women’s football in India.

But she will need what the AIFF has been terrible with so far: time; and it appears the AIFF is only learning after failing miserably, with Valverde likely to continue as India Women’s coach.

The women’s team is ranked 67th, compared to the men’s lowly 141st, and if India are to dream of a World Cup spot, the Blue Tigresses remain their best chance, provided the system meant to nurture them no longer poses the biggest obstacle.

Published on March 18, 2026