New Delhi: 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.
