Perth: The lack of international game time could haunt India when they face higher-ranked Vietnam in their opening group match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup football tournament here on Wednesday.
Ranked lowest in the group of four teams, the others being Japan and Chinese Taipei, India have not played a single international match this year. The last time they played an international match was in October 2025, against Iran and Nepal, which they lost 0-2 and 1-2 respectively.
Instead of playing international matches, India opted to play against club sides during a four-week camp in Turkiye from where the Blue Tigresses arrived in Perth on February 11. Since then, the Indian team played friendly matches against two Australian club sides.
There was a November FIFA international match window but India did not play any matches.
Amelia Valverde, Costa Rica’s head coach at the 2015 and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cups, took charge only in January after Crispin Chhetri, who is currently assistant coach, was at the helm during the qualification round. Vietnam, on the other hand, have played four international matches in February, two each against Uzbekistan and China, both strong sides in the continent, winning once and losing thrice.
Ranked 36 in the FIFA list as against 67 of India, Vietnam women’s team has been a rising force, having qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. They also reached the quarter-finals of the previous edition of the Asian Cup.
Vietnam have also won both their previous clashes against India in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, both in the group stage, scoring multiple goals on both occasions (3-0 and 2-1). However, this will be the first meeting between the two sides in the competition since 2003.