Latest news with #U20Women'sAsianCup
Hans India
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Joakim Alexandersson names 23-member squad for SAFF U17 Women's C'ship
New Delhi: India U17 women's team head coach Joakim Alexandersson on Sunday named a 23-member squad for the SAFF U17 Women's Championship Bhutan 2025, which is scheduled from August 20 to 31 in Thimphu. Alexandersson, who historically guided the India U20s to their first AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup qualification in two decades earlier this month, will now lead the U17s as they gear up for the SAFF championship in the lead-up to the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers, which will be held in October in Kyrgyzstan. In a new format that will provide the players more game time, the SAFF U17 Women's Championship will feature four teams - India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh - competing in a double round-robin league. Each team will play six matches, and the one with the most points will be crowned champions. India u17 women will begin the campaign against Nepal on August 20, followed by Bangladesh on August 22, Bhutan on August 24 and 27, Nepal on August 29, and finally, Bangladesh again on August 31. All matches will be played at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu and will be streamed live on the Sportzworkz YouTube Channel. Squad: Goalkeepers: Munni, Surajmuni Kumari, Tamphasana Devi Konjengbam. Defenders: Alena Devi Sarangthem, Alisha Lyngdoh, Binita Horo, Divyani Linda, Elizabed Lakra, Priya, Ritu Badaik, Taniya Devi Tonambam. Midfielders: Abhista Basnett, Anita Dungdung, Beena Kumari, Bonifilia Shullai, Julan Nongmaithem, Pritika Barman, Shveta Rani, Thandamoni Baskey. Forwards: Anushka Kumari, Nira Chanu Longjam, Pearl Fernandes, Valaina Jada Fernandes. Head coach: Joakim Alexandersson Assistant coach: Nivetha Ramadoss Goalkeeper coach: Dipankar Choudhury Strength and conditioning coach: Saifulla India's schedule at the SAFF U17 Women's Championship Bhutan 2025 (in IST): August 20: Nepal vs India (14:30) August 22: India vs Bangladesh (14:30) August 24: Bhutan vs India (14:30) August 27: India vs Bhutan (17:30) August 29: India vs Nepal (17:30) August 31: Bangladesh vs India (14:30)
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Business Standard
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Business Standard
India U20 women's coach: Qualifying for Asian Cup was our goal, achieved!"
The Indian senior team's recent qualification to the AFC Women's Asian Cup acted as an extra dose of motivation for the national U-20 squad on its way to the age-group continental showpiece, said head coach Joakim Alexandersson on Monday. India qualified for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup football for the first time in two decades after edging past hosts Myanmar 1-0 in their final Group D qualifying match in Yangon on Sunday. Alexandersson, who has trained this bunch since his appointment in December last year, said, "This is very special for the girls. They've been preparing for many months now, and seeing how the senior women's team qualified in such a fantastic way gave them extra motivation. "They had a great spirit and really wanted to achieve this too. Qualifying for the Asian Cup was our only goal when we arrived in Myanmar, and now we've done it." Pooja scored the decisive goal in the 27th minute at the Thuwunna Stadium as India finished on top of the group with seven points to make it to the 2026 edition of the main tournament in Thailand. India dominated the first half while Myanmar controlled the proceedings in the second and came very close to scoring in the 80th minute. Alexandersson noted, "Honestly, the second half wasn't the best in terms of the quality of our play. But to keep a clean sheet for the third time, and to work as hard as we did as a team, shows the fantastic morale these players have." After the on-pitch celebrations, the Swedish coach gave a heartfelt speech to the players and the staff, saying they deserved to be in the main tournament. "This is a very emotional moment for me because I saw how hard you worked out there. But despite the challenges, the effort you put into the game was immense. We fought so hard, defending with every part of our bodies. We truly showed that we deserve to be in this Asian Cup, and that is exactly why we are here. "In the first game, we couldn't score goals, but we improved on that. And today, that improvement has been enough. Looking back at all three matches, I believe we totally deserve to qualify for the Asian Cup. "Of course, there are still things we can improve on, but now we have time before the tournament to sharpen our play style and make ourselves even better. I look forward to that," said Alexandersson. After the victorious campaign in Yangon, the Young Tigresses received a warm welcome upon their arrival in New Delhi on Monday morning. This was also about vanquishing the demons of the past. In 2023, the U20 side were knocked out in the first round of the qualifiers by the narrowest of margins, on goal difference, by Vietnam. Winger Neha was one of the few players who returned from Vietnam grieving two years ago and had an opportunity to redeem themselves this time in Myanmar. "I feel ecstatic that I've done it for the first time, finally. Last time in Vietnam, we missed the qualifiers by just a goal. But this time, I feel proud. This was our best match so far. I would like to extend my gratitude to my father. Before the match, for the first time, he told me, "Beta, go do something for Team India today", so I'm feeling very proud. "The coach also noticed there's something good in me and supported me a lot. I would also like to thank my papa," said the 19-year-old who provided the assist for Pooja's winning goal with a superb cross from the left flank. Captain Shubhangi Singh had expressed her disappointment after the goalless draw with Indonesia in the first game, but was over the moon after Sunday's result. "I'm actually beyond happy, to be honest. The way we worked as a team, especially in the second half, we gave it our all, and it was totally worth it. The crowd tried to put us under pressure, and it got harder, but our mindset remained strong. "I think we were the better team, but credit to them as they performed well too. We came in with the mentality of winning, because for us, a draw in today's game would've almost been like a loss. So we went for it, and we came back with the win. That's all that matters," said Shubhangi. The second half wasn't comfortable by any stretch of the imagination as the hosts piled the pressure in the Indian half. But the Indian backline, led by Cindy Colney and Thoibisana Chanu in central defence, who hadn't conceded any goal in the qualifiers, was in no mood to let go of that perfect record. With every clearance and every interception, the belief grew stronger.
News18
10-08-2025
- Sport
- News18
AIFF announces reward for India U20 Womens Team
New Delhi [India], August 10 (ANI): The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced a reward of USD 25,000 for the U20 Women's National Team following their outstanding performance, which secured India's qualification for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup for the first time in two decades, according to the AIFF website. The last time India qualified for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup was back in India U20 women produced some fine performances, remaining undefeated in their Group D qualification campaign, where they played Indonesia (0-0), and Turkmenistan (7-0), before defeating hosts Myanmar (1-0) in front of a capacity crowd at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, a campaign where they did not concede a single results on the pitch, however, are a direct outcome of the hard yards put in behind the scenes with sustained planning and developmental efforts over the past few years. With no shortcuts taken, India's qualification for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup was a direct culmination of the long-term vision and structured preparation put in place at the grassroots AIFF, in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), has undertaken several initiatives to strengthen the grassroots and youth structures in women's such initiative is the ASMITA Women's Football Leagues, which witnessed the successful conduct of 155 leagues across the country from 2023 to 2025 at the U13, U15, and U17 levels. The 2023-24 edition saw participation from 6,305 junior players, a number that rose to 8,658 in ASMITA Football Leagues continue in the 2025-26 season as well, with the U13 ASMITA Football Leagues 2025-26, which began last month. The U13 leagues will see 50 tournaments be played across as many venues, where around 8,000 players from approximately 400 teams will compete across 26 a result of such efforts, the number of registered women footballers in India has seen a 232% increase over the past year. The U20 women have been in camp since December 2024 and have played the Pink Ladies Youth Cup in Turkiye, defeating teams like Hong Kong and Jordan. Ahead of the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers, a number of the U20 players trained with the senior team before the Young Tigresses faced Uzbekistan U20S in two friendlies in Tashkent (1-1 and 4-1). In total, the India U20 women's team trained together in the preparation camp for 135 days since December ahead, the AIFF remains fully committed to ensuring the best possible preparation for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2026, scheduled to be held in Thailand in April 2026. The Federation will work closely with all stakeholders to facilitate extended training camps and secure high-quality international exposure for the aim for the Federation is not only to make the players physically and mentally fit through training, but also to make them ready to rub shoulders against the best in Asia. Opportunities for the AIFF to arrange quality opponents to play preparatory matches are also being looked at. (ANI)
The Hindu
06-08-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
India vs Indonesia LIVE streaming info: When, where to watch AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2026 qualifier?
India will begin its AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers campaign in a Group D match against Indonesia on Wednesday. The Blue Tigresses will aim to qualify for the U20 Women's Asian Cup, a tournament that's also a qualifier for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup, for the fourth time. When and where will the India vs Indonesia AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2026 qualifier start? The match will start at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon at 6 PM IST (7 PM local time) on Wednesday, August 6. How to watch the India vs Indonesia AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2026 qualifier? The match will be streamed live on the Pyone Play Sports YouTube Channel. When did India last qualify for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup? India last qualified for the tournament in 2006. In the 2024 qualifiers, India was eliminated in the first round by the narrowest of margins, on goal difference, by Vietnam. Reactions from the India camp ahead of the qualifier Head coach Joakim Alexandersson: 'We prepared for these Qualifiers with a camp of more than two months in good facilities and a good training ground in Bengaluru. Our expectations here are to qualify, of course. We know it's going to be three tough games and the mindset is to win all three and make it to the Asian Cup.' Defender and India captain Shubhangi Singh: 'Thanks to our federation, we came to Yangon five days before the game, which was good for us to adapt to the weather. We're going to take things match by match. We respect all opponents, but we aren't afraid of anyone. We are confident and our target is to qualify for the Asian Cup.'
United News of India
05-08-2025
- Sport
- United News of India
India to face Indonesia in AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers
Yangon (Myanmar), Aug 5 (UNI) India will begin their AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Thailand 2026 Qualifiers campaign in Group D against Indonesia on August 6, at the Thuwunna Stadium here at 18:00 IST. India will aim to qualify for the U20 Women's Asian Cup, a tournament that's also a qualifier for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup, for the fourth time. Led by Swedish head coach Joakim Alexandersson, the Young Tigresses can end a 20-year absence from the competition, having last qualified in 2006. In the 2024 qualifiers, India were eliminated in the first round by the narrowest of margins, on goal difference, by Vietnam. Coincidentally, India met Indonesia in those qualifiers as well, and registered a thumping 6-0 win. Speaking at the pre-match press conference today, Alexandersson expressed his positivity about India's qualifying chances in a competitive group. "We prepared for these Qualifiers with a camp of more than two months in good facilities and a good training ground in Bengaluru. Our expectations here are to qualify, of course. We know it's going to be three tough games and the mindset is to win all three and make it to the Asian Cup," said the Swede. After Indonesia, India will play Turkmenistan (August 8) and hosts Myanmar (August 10). The group winners and three best second-placed teams across all eight groups will qualify for the final tournament. "We've looked into our opponents. We know Myanmar are a good team in Asian football and are supposed to be our strongest opponents. Indonesia have a strong squad as well. Every game will be a different challenge for us to face. We have to take care of them," Alexandersson added. The Young Tigresses arrived in Yangon on August 1, five days before their first game, to acclimatise to the conditions in Myanmar. The mood in the camp is positive, more so after the solid 4-1 win over Uzbekistan in a preparatory friendly in Tashkent last month. Defender Shubhangi Singh, who captained India in the friendlies and will also wear the armband in Myanmar, said, "Thanks to our federation, we came to Yangon five days before the game, which was good for us to adapt to the weather. We're going to take things match by match. We respect all opponents but we aren't afraid of anyone. We are confident and our target is to qualify for the Asian Cup." As part of their preparations, Indonesia played the ASEAN U19 Women's Championship in June, where they finished third. They beat Malaysia 4-0, drew 1-1 with Cambodia, and suffered heavy losses to Thailand (1-6) and Vietnam (0-4), before ultimately defeating Myanmar on penalties to win bronze. Indonesia's Japanese head coach Akira Higashiyama said, "We are ready for the Qualifiers. Everyone has a chance to win in this competitive group. We know India are pretty strong, but we are fully focussed and ready to face them tomorrow. Our objective is to enjoy the games." The match will be streamed live on the Pyone Play Sports YouTube Channel. UNI BM
