Joakim Alexandersson, the head coach of the Indian U20 women’s team, has revealed the 23-player squad for the upcoming AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup in Thailand. India, making a return to the tournament after 20 years, will kick off their campaign against Japan on April 2 at 18:30 IST at the Thammasat Stadium. Following this, they will play against Australia on April 5 at 14:30 IST at the Pathum Thani Stadium, and then face Chinese Taipei on April 8 at 14:30 IST at the same venue.
The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams across all groups, will progress to the quarter-finals. The victors of the quarter-finals will secure a spot in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026. The Indian team arrived in Bangkok on March 20 and had 13 days to adjust to the local conditions. The squad, initially consisting of 24 players, saw defender Alka Indwar being omitted after Alexandersson finalized his 23-player squad for the tournament.
India commenced their training camp in Bengaluru in January post the conclusion of the first phase of the IWL. Subsequently, they undertook a month-long camp in Sweden, engaging in five friendly matches against senior teams from Swedish clubs. Upon their return from Scandinavia, the team resumed training in Kolkata before heading to Bangkok, Thailand.
