AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Draw

AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Draw: India Placed in Group C

Published - Jul 29, 2025, 04:27 PM

3 min

Summary

India women's football team have been drawn alongside Japan, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei.
India defeated Thailand 2-1 in the final game of the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.
Sangita Basfore was also one of the assistants in the draw.

The race to become the champions of Asia has begun today at the Sydney Town Hall in Australia. The twelve best women's football teams from Asia have been divided into three groups, with four teams each. This tournament also serves as a path to Brazil for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027. All the group toppers and the runners-up will qualify for the World Cup, whereas the two third-best teams will lock horns in the inter-confederation playoffs.

The results of the draw are as follows. The India Women's Football Team have been pooled in Group C alongside Japan, Vietnam, and Chinese Taipei, while Group A has hosts Australia, South Korea, Iran, and the Philippines and Group B features DPR Korea, China, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.

Who are India's Opponents in AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026?

India will play their two games at Perth against Vietnam and Japan on March 4 and March 7, respectively. India Women's football team will play their final group game against Chinese Taipei in Sydney on 10 March 2026. India will consider this a positive result after they managed to avoid two top-tier teams from Pot 2. If Crispin Chhetri's girls manage to secure a draw against Vietnam, maintain a decent scoreline against Japan, it will all boil down to the final game at Sydney against Chinese Taipei.

Can India Create History at AFC Women's Asian Cup?

The India Women's National Football Team are on the verge of reaching the first-ever Women's World Cup in 2027 if they manage to finish among the top eight teams. Sangita Basfore, the 29-year-old Indian international from Kalyani, has emphasised that the main focus has always been to qualify for the Women's World Cup. Under Crispin Chhetri, the Blue Tigress performed really well in the qualifiers and even managed to get the better of hosts Thailand. Despite tough opponents like Japan, the probability of India doing well is high, as the other two teams, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei, are not at their peak.