A step away from ending a two-decade wait, India U20 women ready for Myanmar in final Asian Cup qualifier

Yangon [Myanmar], August 9 : The India U20 women's team are on the cusp of ending a 20-year wait to qualify for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup, standing just one win away from booking their tickets to the 2026 tournament in Thailand.

The Young Tigresses will meet hosts Myanmar in their third and final qualifying match in Group D on August 10 at 3 pm.

India currently sit at the top of the four-team Group D table with four points after a goalless draw with Indonesia and a 7-0 win over Turkmenistan. Myanmar too have four points. The hosts defeated Turkmenistan 6-1 and were held 2-2 by Indonesia. A win will guarantee top spot and qualification for India, according to an AIFF press release.

If it's a draw with Myanmar, the Young Tigresses will have to wait for the result of the second match between Indonesia and Turkmenistan at 18:00 IST. Should Indonesia fail to win, India will qualify. But if Indonesia win, India will be out of contention to qualify. In that case, the top three teams will be level on five points, bringing the head-to-head criteria into play, where India cannot be ranked at the top, having scored fewer goals in the matches among the three teams.

It Is important to note that despite the provision of the three best second-placed teams across all eight groups to qualify, the results in the other groups after the second matchday mean that there is now no possibility for the second-placed team in Group D to qualify since they are guaranteed to be ranked outside the top three in that table.

However, none of these permutations is playing in the minds of Joakim Alexandersson and his Young Tigresses. They only have one simple target in their heads to win and qualify.

"Everything is in our own hands, which is perfect. We'll go for a second win. We cannot be playing for a draw, so the aim is definitely three points," said Alexandersson, according to AIFF.

Left disappointed after a scoreless show versus Indonesia, the Swede was a much happier man after Friday's goal fest against the Central Asians.

"The opponent today was easier to handle, of course, but still, we had quicker decision-making with the ball and were better at playing those final third passes into the box. So there was much better quality in that area today. We were also more aggressive on set pieces, which was very helpful," he added.

Captain Shubhangi Singh and forward Sulanjana Raul led the scoresheet with two goals each. The latter is no stranger to scoring on the continental stage, having netted a hat-trick against IR Iran in the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers in Thailand two years ago. Now 18 years of age, she is looking forward to earning a first qualification to an AFC tournament with the national team.

"This was a morale-boosting win after the disappointment of the first game. We are very positive heading into the last game. We know it's a must-win. Myanmar, being the hosts, get a lot of support from the crowd, but we're under no pressure. We're absolutely ready," said Sulanjana.

The senior women's team did it. Now it's the turn of the Young Tigresses to do the same. Shubhangi, who trained with the senior squad in the Bengaluru camp, shared how much the Blue Tigresses' historic qualification inspires the younger bunch to repeat it.

"I trained with the senior team for over a month, and that gave me a lot of good experience and confidence. Playing with the seniors and then coming back to play with the U20 team really boosts your belief. We often talk in the team about how the seniors have qualified, and that means we also have to qualify. Their success has given us extra motivation and inspiration to push harder and reach the Asian Cup," said Shubhangi.

Myanmar is the final hurdle before realising that dream. Sharing his thoughts on the opponents, Alexandersson added, "Myanmar have been quite aggressive with their high line so far in the qualifiers. Whether they'll do the same against us, I'm not entirely sure yet. We'll see. But we'll be prepared for every scenario. We have multiple plans ready. We're going into this game with good confidence."

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