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News18
10 hours ago
- Sport
- News18
India Go Up Against Resilient Timor Leste In AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers
Last Updated: Indian women's football team will look to continue the winning momentum in the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers when they take on Timor Leste. Following a resounding victory in their tournament opener, the Indian team aims to maintain their winning momentum in the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers as they face Timor Leste on Sunday. Group B, consisting of five teams, is currently led by Iraq, who have secured four points after a 5-2 win over Mongolia and a 0-0 draw with Timor Leste. Both India, having defeated Mongolia 13-0, and Thailand, with a 4-0 victory over Timor Leste, have three points each. Despite Timor Leste being ranked 158th, 32 spots below Mongolia, India's coach Crispin Chettri anticipates a tougher challenge from the Southeast Asian team. Having observed all teams in action after the first two matchdays, there is now a clearer understanding of the remaining three opponents. 'Timor Leste are better organised than Mongolia and, defensively, even stronger than Iraq. They prefer counter-attacks and are comfortable with possession," Chettri noted. 'They have their strengths, but Thailand dominated the match against them, so it's hard to gauge their attack. However, they have pace in their team." Chettri and his coaching staff watched the match at the 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium on Thursday, where Timor Leste held 46th-ranked Thailand to four goals. India, ranked 70th, have never played against Timor Leste before. They have participated in four editions of the ASEAN Women's Championship, with their only official win being a 2-1 victory over Singapore in 2019. Their 0-0 draw with Iraq on Monday marked their first-ever point in an AFC competition. India used their five-day break to recover and prepare for the demanding schedule ahead, with three matches in a week. The Blue Tigresses had two morning training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, and two sessions on Friday and Saturday. 'I believe that in a tournament with four matches, this kind of rest aids in team building. We worked on a few tactical aspects that we may not have executed well in the first match. 'We had four training sessions to focus on that, which has helped us prepare for the upcoming matches and specific teams," said Chettri. There was no training on Wednesday, as Chettri gave the players a complete rest day to refresh, something he considers crucial between games. 'In my view, recovery and spending time away from football are important. In a high-pressure tournament with consecutive matches, taking a break from the game helps. Players return more focused to the next training session, putting in more effort, which helps them mentally too," Chettri explained. First Published: June 28, 2025, 15:07 IST
Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
India face resilient Timor Leste in AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers
Chiang Mai , Coming off a thumping victory in its tournament opener, the Indian team will look to continue the winning momentum in the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers when it takes on Timor Leste here on Sunday. HT Image The five-team Group B is currently led by Iraq, who are on four points after a 5-2 victory over Mongolia and a 0-0 draw with Timor Leste. India, who beat Mongolia 13-0, and Thailand, who beat Timor Leste 4-0, are on three points each. Despite Timor Leste being ranked 158th, 32 places below Mongolia, India coach Crispin Chettri believed that the Southeast Asian side would pose a stronger challenge. Having watched all teams in action after the first two matchdays, there's now a much clearer assessment of the remaining three opponents. "Timor Leste are a better organised team than Mongolia, and I feel they are better organised defensively than Iraq as well. They prefer going for counter-attacks. They don't mind keeping the ball either," Chettri said. "So, in patches, they are good. But as Thailand dominated the match completely, we can't say much about their attack. But they have got pace in their team as well." Chettri and his coaching staff were in attendance at the 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium on Thursday as Timor Leste kept 46th-ranked Thailand to four goals. India, ranked 70, have never faced Timor Leste before. Coached by Indonesian Emral bin Bustamam, Timor Leste have been more active in international football as compared to Mongolia. They finished fourth in the 2024 AFF Women's Cup, where they drew against Laos and Singapore. They have played in four editions of the ASEAN Women's Championship, and the 2-1 win over Singapore in 2019 remains the only official victory in their history. The 0-0 draw with Iraq on Monday was their first-ever point in an AFC competition. India utilised their five-day break to recover and prepare for the tighter schedule ahead, with three matches in a week. The Blue Tigresses had two morning training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, and two sessions on Friday and Saturday. "I think when you have a tournament of four matches, this kind of rest helps in team building. Tactically, we worked on a few things which maybe we didn't do well in the first match. "We had four training sessions to work on that. So, I think that has helped us a lot in preparing for our upcoming matches and specifically for certain teams also," said Chettri. There was no training on Wednesday as Chettri gave complete rest to the players, allowing them time to refresh, something the coach believes is necessary between games. "For me, recovery and staying outside football for a certain time is important. When you are in a tournament with high pressure and playing back-to-back matches, sometimes getting out of the football zone, being yourself, and not thinking about the game is helpful, I believe," the India coach said. "Players will come out more focused in the next day's training session. They will put in more effort, and I think that will help them cope mentally too," said Chettri. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Hindu
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Nepal squad for AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers — Sabitra Bhandari, Anjila Subba looks to shine
Nepal will look to qualify for the AFC Women's Asian Cup for the first time as it begins its qualification campaign next week. The team, led by Belgian head coach Patrick De Wilde, will face Uzbekistan, Laos, and Sri Lanka in its group. Only the group winner will qualify for the final tournament, set to be held in Australia next year. All matches will take place at the Do'stlik Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Nepal has previously qualified for the Asian Cup three times, making group-stage exits on each occasion. Its last appearance was in 1999. NEPAL SQUAD FOR ASIAN CUP QUALIFIERS Goalkeepers: Anjila Tumbapo Subba, Usha Nath, Anjana Rana Magar Defenders: Gita Rana, Nisha Thokar, Samikshya Ghimire, Manmaya Damai, Pratiksha Chaudhary, Bimala BK, Puja Rana, Amrita Jaishi Midfielders: Bimala Chaudhary, Anita Basnet, Renuka Nagarkote, Preeti Rai, Saru Limbu, Sabita Rana Magar, Saraswoti Hamal Forwards: Sabitra Bhandari, Rashmi Kumari Ghising, Chandra Bhandari, Anita KC, Rekha Poudel NEPAL SCHEDULE Match Date Kick-Off time (local time) Kick-Off time (Nepal time) Kick-Off time (IST) 1. Nepal vs Laos June 29, 2025 5:00 pm 5:45 pm 5:30 pm 2. Sri Lanka vs Nepal July 2, 2025 5:00 pm 5:45 pm 5:30 pm 3. Uzbekistan vs Nepal July 5, 2025 8:00 pm 8:45 pm 8:30 pm
