India Vs Japan Preview, AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026: Blue Tigresses Look To Keep Campaign Alive Against Group Leaders

India face a daunting task when they take on mighty Japan in a Group C encounter in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 at the Perth Rectangular Stadium on Saturday. The Blue Tigresses suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss against Vietnam in their opening match on March 4.

Nguyen Thi Van Su had given Vietnam the lead in the 30th minute, but Sanfida Nongrum marked her debut with a goal in the 52nd minute. This ended India’s painful 23-year wait to score in the tournament.

However, Nguyen Thi Van Su broke the collective hearts of Indian fans when she scored her second goal of the night deep inside stoppage time to hand the Golden Star Warriors a hard-earned victory.

Despite the setback, the Blue Tigresses will take heart from their performance against a stronger and higher-ranked opponent. However, Amelia Valverde’s girls will face a much tougher task against Japan.

Nadeshiko Japan are the highest-ranked team in the tournament – with a FIFA Women’s World Ranking of No. 8 – and remain the only Asian side to ever win the Women’s World Cup.

Japan went top of the group with a 2-0 win over Chinese Taipei on Wednesday, with Bayern Munich midfielder Momoko Tanikawa and Brighton’s Kiko Seike scoring in the second half.

A defeat to Japan will all but end India’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages. With a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil on offer for the semi-finalists, the Blue Tigresses will give their all in this contest, with little left to lose.

India vs Japan: Head-To-Head Record

India and Japan have faced each other just once in women’s international football. That came during an Olympic Games qualifier in October 2023, where Japan thrashed India 7-0, with six goals coming in the second half.

India vs Japan: Team News

India and Japan will have a full complement of players in the crucial Group C encounter on Saturday, with no injuries in their respective opening games.

India will likely go for a midfield-heavy formation, with the team struggling to impose themselves in the middle of the park in the first half of the match against Vietnam. The introduction of young legs at the break turned the tide for the Blue Tigresses, only for it to fall short.

Manisha Kalyan showed her class, with her through-ball to Soumya Guguloth turning out to be India’s best chance of the game, other than Sanfida’s goal. Amelia Valverde will need to make sure that the Alianza Lima forward receives more balls in the opposition’s half to hit on the counter, with India likely to sit deep against Japan.

The defence will also need to shore up when facing the world-class attack that Japan have. India’s indecisiveness in their box led to Thai Thi Thao scoring after the restart, only for VAR to come to the rescue and overturn the goal.

India vs Japan: Predicted Lineup

India Predicted Playing XI: Panthoi Chanu; Sweety Devi Ngangbam, Martina Thokchom, Nirmala Devi, Sanju Yadav; Sangita Basfore, Rimpa Haldar, Shilky Devi Hemam; Soumya Guguloth, Grace Dangmei, Manisha Kalyan.

India vs Japan, AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026: Live Streaming Details