India vs Japan Preview, AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026: Young Tigresses Begin World Cup Quest Against Six‑Time Champs

The Indian Under-20 women's side will hope to secure an elusive FIFA World Cup berth when it begins its AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup campaign against six-time champions Japan, here on Thursday.

It was earlier last month that their senior counterparts were knocked out of the group stage of the Asian Cup ending their World Cup qualifying hopes as they finished at the bottom of the group.

But the U-20 side coached by astute tactician Joakim Alexandersson has arrived here with confidence.

The Young Tigresses have returned to the continental stage after a 20-year gap, having qualified for the tournament by topping their group in the qualifiers in August last year.

Their previous appearance came in 2006, where they exited in the group stage.

For India, this marks the start of a challenging but significant campaign, with a place in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026 on the line.

India are placed in a tough Group C alongside Japan, Australia (April 5), and Chinese Taipei (April 8). The top two teams, along with the two best third-placed sides across three groups, will advance to the quarter-finals, where a place in the Poland World Cup awaits the final-four.

Head coach Alexandersson said acknowledged the big challenge.

"We are very much aware that we are new to this scene right now with the India team. We know we are facing tough opponents and we have respect for them," said the Swede.

India's preparation for the tournament has included friendly matches in Kazakhstan and a month-long training camp in Sweden.

Standing in India's way in the opening match is one of the world's most formidable sides.

Japan, who are the record six-time champions of the U20 Asian Cup, arrive as one of the favourites. They were also world champions in 2018.

The match will be played at the Thammasat Stadium from 6.30pm (IST) and will be streamed live on FanCode.