The draw for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026, hosted in Thailand, was conducted on 10 November 2025 and it is fair to say India has been put into the most difficult group in the tournament. The Young Tigresses are drawn in Group C against last edition’s runners-up and record six-time winners Japan, Australia and 2002 runners-up Chinese Taipei, with the top two teams and the best two third-placed sides moving into the quarterfinals. The four semi-finalists will qualify for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026, so it is a major occasion for India, who qualified for the finals after three editions. Overall, this is the fourth participation for the nation in the competition and first since 2006, although all of their appearances happened when the tournament was at the U19 level.
Read here to know more about AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026: Indian Women’s Team's historical qualification journey
The AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup will commence on 1 April 2026 in Thailand with 12 teams fighting for the honour. The games will be played in three venues, including Thammasat Stadium, which will host the final on 18 April 2026. The tournament returned to the Southeast Asian nation after two editions, where it was hosted in Uzbekistan. This will also be the 13th edition of the competition and the third tournament after it was made a U-20 contest. North Korea is the current holder of the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup, their second title and they are among the four sides in this tournament that have tasted glory before. Jordan is returning to the competition after making their first appearance in 2006, while Bangladesh is the only side making their debut this time.
India’s qualification to the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026
India were a bit lucky to avoid some big names in their qualifying group for the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026, but they still had to get past competitive opponents like Indonesia, Myanmar and Turkmenistan to book a spot in the finals. The Young Tigresses delivered that, starting their qualifying campaign with a goalless draw against their nearest competitor, Indonesia, an important result it proved to be, before hammering Turkmenistan 7-0 two days later. That helped their goal difference massively as India only needed to avoid defeat in the group game against Myanmar to make it through. A draw would have been sufficient, but Joakim Alexandersson’s side only wanted victory and they got it when Pooja scored the only goal in the cagey affair to help India make a return to the Women’s Asian Cup at this age level. Their qualification marked a successful year for women’s football in the country, as the U17 side and the senior team also qualified for their age-group Women’s Asian Cup.
India’s Group C Opponents
Japan
Australia
Chinese Taipei
India’s Group C Fixtures
2 April 2026
Japan vs India - Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok (20:00)
5 April 2026
India vs Australia - Pathum Thani Stadium, Pathum Thani (16:00)
8 April 2026
Chinese Taipei vs India - Pathum Thani Stadium, Pathum Thani (16:00)
Knockout stage
Quarterfinals
11 April 2026
Group A winner vs Group B/C third place - Pathum Thani Stadium, Pathum Thani (16:00)
Group C winner vs Group A/B third place - Thammasat Stadium, Pathum Thani (20:00)
12 April 2026
Group A runner-up vs Group B runner-up - Pathum Thani Stadium, Pathum Thani (16:00)
Group B winner vs Group C runner-up - Thammasat Stadium, Pathum Thani (20:00)
Semifinals
15 April 2026
Quarter-final 1 winner vs Quarter-final 3 winner - Pathum Thani Stadium, Pathum Thani (16:00)
Quarter-final 2 winner vs Quarter-final 4 winner - Thammasat Stadium, Pathum Thani (20:00)
Final
18 April 2026
Semi-final 1 winner vs Semi-final 2 winner - Thammasat Stadium, Pathum Thani (18:00)
India will begin their journey in the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 on 2nd April 2026 against an Asian powerhouse and a baller in this competition, Japan, in an understandably tough start in their return to this stage. They will then take on Australia two days later before their final group game against Chinese Taipei on 8th April 2026. That game is expected to be the decider for the third spot, provided the top two standing go to Japan and Australia. India needs to win that fixture to try to finish as one of the two best third-placed teams advancing to the quarterfinal stage, which begins on 11 April 2026.
