Suzhou (China). Indian Under-17 women’s football team’s wonderful journey in the AFC Under-17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 ended in the quarter-finals.
Host China defeated India 3-0 in the match played on Monday and eliminated them from the tournament. With this defeat, India’s dream of qualifying for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026 also ended.
However, despite the defeat, the Indian team gave its best performance in this competition. For the first time, the team was successful in reaching the knockout stage, which is being considered a major achievement for Indian women’s football.
In the match played at Suzhou Sports Center Stadium, China played aggressively from the beginning. Encouraged by the support of the home crowd, the Chinese team continuously maintained pressure on the Indian defence. Indian goalkeeper Munni and the defenders thwarted several attacks in the opening minutes.
India also tried to counter-attack on some occasions. After about half an hour of play, Pritika Barman gave a brilliant cross into the box, but Jaya could not take advantage of it.
China got its first goal in the 38th minute, when Huang Qianyi gave the team the lead with a brilliant finish from close range. In the extra time of the first half, China got a penalty after Ritu Badaik was fouled inside the box. Liu Yuxi converted the penalty to make the score 2-0.
In the second half, the Indian team tried to make a comeback, but did not get many chances in front of China’s strong defense. On the other hand, the Chinese team continued attacking. Indian goalkeeper Munni made several good saves and saved the team from losing by a huge margin.
Li Qixian sealed China’s victory by scoring the third goal in the last minute of regulation time. With this victory, China reached the semi-finals.
Under the guidance of head coach Pamela Conti, the Indian team displayed a fighting and disciplined performance throughout the tournament. This performance of young players has definitely raised expectations for the future.
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