The India Under-20 women's football team's international friendly against Uzbekistan was called off due to what the All India Football Federation (AIFF) termed as "operational challenges" at the Do'stlik Stadium in Tashkent. The match was originally scheduled to be played on Sunday (July 13, 2025), and a new date is not known yet.
The game is part of a two-match tour, which has been organized to prepare for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers in August, where they the Young Tigresses face Indonesia, Turkmenistan and hosts Myanmar. Head coach Joakim Alexandersson travelled with a squad of 24 players, which saw a last-minute change as Anika Devi Sharubam replaced goalkeeper Melody Chanu Keisham due to the latter being ill.
Uzbekistan, led by head coach Vladimir Panov, are also gearing up as hosts of Group G of the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers, where they will face Bahrain, Northern Mariana Islands and Jordan. The Central Asian nation also hosted the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2024 but lost all games and finished at the bottom of Group A.
Prior to the friendly, the Indian side trained at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru, before landing in the Uzbek capital on Friday morning. They completed gym and training sessions ahead of Sunday’s scheduled kick-off, but the match did not materialize.
AIFF's statement added that "efforts are ongoing to reschedule the match". The second game was originally slated for July 16, but with the opener itself called off, one can expect an alteration to the other match as well.
