Sydney [Australia], March 8 : It all comes down to the last Group C match against Chinese Taipei for the Blue Tigresses.
India's hopes of making it to the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 quarter-finals are very much alive despite defeats against Vietnam (1-2) and Japan (0-11) in Perth.
Win by a margin of more than a goal, and they will enter the last eight, should Japan defeat Vietnam on March 10, in the simultaneous kick-off, according to a release.
India can also scrape through as Group C runners-up if they win by any margin, but score at least twice. Further, even a 1-0 margin may be enough should the Group B game between Uzbekistan and Bangladesh end in a draw on Monday.
The Blue Tigresses, who had set up camp in Perth, a couple of weeks prior to the Asian Cup, have now shifted base to Sydney, where they will face Chinese Taipei at the Western Sydney Stadium, at 14:30 IST on Tuesday, March 10. Japan play Vietnam at the same time, at Perth Rectangular Stadium in Perth.
India left Perth on Sunday morning and arrived in New South Wales in the evening. On Monday, they will hold their official training session in the morning, followed by a visit to the Western Sydney Stadium to familiarise themselves with the match venue.
India head coach Amelia Valverde spoke about instilling the do-or-die mentality into the players, ahead of the crucial match, where the desired result may give the Blue Tigresses a shot at qualifying for the FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027.
Valverde said, "As long as we still have a chance, and we know we do, we will fight until the very end."
"But we need to focus on preparing the best possible match ahead (against Chinese Taipei)," she continued. "We must turn the page as quickly as possible because we know we can show a better version of ourselves than what we saw (against Japan), something similar to what we showed last Wednesday (against Vietnam)."
The heavy defeat against Japan was not a result that would have been anticipated. However, India midfielder Sangita Basfore has put the result behind her and is already looking forward to the next game.
"It was a challenging match, yes, but it does not diminish the effort that the team put in," she said. "Japan are a very good team, and playing against them gave us many lessons, which we intend to take forward into the next match and perform better.
"Our last group stage game is against Chinese Taipei, and we still have a chance. We will go into that match with hope and determination, and try to deliver a strong performance," said Sangita.
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