New Delhi [India], July 12 : The Indian U20 women's team have arrived in Tashkent to play two friendly matches against Uzbekistan U20. The first of them will be played on Sunday, July 13, at the Do'stlik Stadium at 20:30 IST.
The Young Tigresses, who had been training at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru, landed in the Uzbek capital on Friday morning and had a gym session in the evening.
On Saturday evening, they had their official training session before the first game. India is using these friendly games to prepare for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers next month, where they will face Indonesia, Turkmenistan and hosts Myanmar.
Head coach Joakim Alexandersson said, as quoted by the AIFF press release, "We wanted to face a strong opponent to get an idea of what awaits us in the Asian qualifiers. We also want to assess how all players perform their roles in such games, especially as we get closer to finalising the squad for the qualifiers. These matches also help us gain valuable experience, not just on the pitch, but also from travelling and adapting to different conditions. The weather in Tashkent is quite similar to Bengaluru so far, so no issues on that front. The hotel, accommodation and food are also fine."
India U20 women travelled with a squad of 24 players, which saw a last-minute change as Anika Devi Sharubam replaced goalkeeper Melody Chanu Keisham due to the latter being ill.
Uzbekistan, led by head coach Vladimir Panov, are also preparing as hosts of Group G of the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers, where they will take on Bahrain, Northern Mariana Islands and Jordan. The Central Asian nation also hosted the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2024 but lost all games and finished at the bottom of Group A.
Uzbekistan U20's 23-member squad for these friendlies against India includes four players who travelled to Bengaluru in May with the senior team for the two FIFA friendlies against India. For India, there are two such players, goalkeeper Monalisha Devi Moirangthem and defender Shubhangi Singh, who were in the two matchday squads against the Uzbekistan senior team as the Blue Tigresses lost 0-1 on both occasions.
Sharing his thoughts on the opponents, Alexandersson said, "They are a pretty physical team, especially their strikers. They play quite direct with minimal risk, often pressing high and looking to exploit the space behind the defenders quickly. So we need to be prepared for all of that."
The Indian senior team and the U20s were training in the same facilities in Bengaluru, preparing for their respective Asian qualifiers. They played a practice match against each other last month, and a few U20 players also trained with the senior team during the camp.
While the Blue Tigresses got their job done, emerging victorious in Thailand to qualify for the AFC Women's Asian Cup, it's now time for the Young Tigresses to do the same.
"Preparations in Bengaluru have been very good. There were a lot of strength and conditioning sessions, and we've definitely improved physically. We also played a practice match against the senior team before they left for Thailand. That was a very motivating experience for the girls. It inspired them and gave them confidence for these upcoming games. We have a few players who weren't fit enough to travel to Uzbekistan and have stayed back in Bengaluru. After these friendlies, we will finalise the squad for the qualifiers," Alexandersson said.
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