Bangkok, April 9 (IANS) India’s performance at the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand 2026 may not be fully captured by the results, with losses to stronger teams highlighting the gaps. However, beyond the scores, the tournament revealed a team dedicated to growth and improvement.

Competing in a tough Group C with top contenders like Japan, a strong Australia, and a disciplined Chinese Taipei, the Indian U20 women’s national team was aware of the challenge and decided to face it on their own terms.

Head coach Joakim Alexandersson early on emphasised development and clear style, favouring long-term growth over short-term conservatism. “I don’t want to be that kind of coach who sits back with 10 players in a youth tournament just to hold on to results and play very defensively for 90 minutes,” he told AIFF after India's campaign came to an end.

“I feel that is not the right thing to do for our players. I would rather try to play our game, but of course, also try to make it more difficult for the opponents. I believe in player development, and at this age group, we have to try to do what we practise in training sessions. It wouldn’t have been right for me as a coach if we suddenly started to play more defensively than we have been practising,” he added.

India’s approach was influenced by that philosophy in all three matches. The campaign started with a 0-6 loss to Japan, then a 0-5 defeat to Australia. Despite these results, India demonstrated structure, organisation, and controlled play in certain phases, especially when they competed with focus and discipline.

“It has been a great tournament, qualifying to be here and competing against the best teams in Asia, to get a good picture of the strengths and weaknesses of all the teams. That has been very exciting,” said the Swedish coach, who has worked with the team since December 2024.

“When it comes to our team’s overall performance, I think that we have been doing a lot of good things. What I’m most satisfied with is that we looked very organised during all three games. But individual things have been too costly for us, especially in the first two games.”

The significant margins emphasised the learning curve. Defensive mistakes and isolated errors were punished by strong opposition. In both initial games, the Young Tigresses began well but ultimately found it difficult to sustain consistency in the second half.

However, they stayed true to their strategy, opting to play through pressure instead of backing away. This conviction led to a clear outcome in their last group game against Chinese Taipei, where they dominated throughout and secured a 3-1 victory. The performance showcased a stronger attacking intent and improved control during critical moments, leading to a well-deserved victory. This was a major milestone. The win was India’s first in the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup since 2004 and, importantly, the first women’s Asian Cup victory at any level since 2005.

“In the same way, we were playing better attacking football, and we decided to press the opponents higher, which gave us a lot of success in this game, and I’m very satisfied with that,” Alexandersson said.

“But still, of course, there is plenty of room for improvement. I think we have been doing well overall as a team, but to be able to compete in a very good way with the best teams in this tournament, we need to improve in those areas — to be more confident with the ball, to be quicker in decision-making, and to play with a little higher intensity. So I guess we have to work more on the fitness of the players as well," he added.

India finished third in Group C with three points from three matches but narrowly missed qualifying for the quarter-finals because of goal difference.

“Overall, I’m satisfied,” Alexandersson said. “I think we could have done a little better to not concede so many goals in the first two games, but at the same time, this is a youth tournament.”

Thus, the campaign integrates into a wider developmental process instead of being a standalone result.

“I look forward to seeing these players in India’s senior women’s team in the future,” he said. “I think a lot of them have the potential to play very well for India.”

For the Young Tigresses, their time in Thailand was ultimately about more than just achieving results; it was about preparing for what lies ahead.

--IANS

vi/bsk/