4 min readNew DelhiMar 9, 2026 04:46 PM IST
How do you pick yourselves up after losing a football match 11-0? Well, you switch back to whatever you did in the match before that, which you lost only because of a last-minute goal to an opposition that has been far more successful than you over the past decade or so.
That is what head coach Amelia Valverde has indicated India would be trying to do ahead of their final group game of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup against Chinese Taipei at the Western Sydney Stadium on Monday.
“Of course, Japan were too strong, and nothing went our way, but I think even if we can put the version of ourselves that took the field against Vietnam, we can achieve our goals, which is to keep the ball, maintain possession, and create spaces. Moreover, I think India have an advantage when it comes to speed, which we will try to use as much as possible to create chances,” said Valverde on the eve of the match.
Questioning Valverde’s tactics against Japan is pointless if the gap between the two sides is not acknowledged. Of Japan’s six goalscorers on the day, only one plays for a club not named Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, West Ham United or Brighton and Hove Albion.
By stark contrast, all but two of India’s players managed to get just half a season of club football due to the Indian Women’s League kicking off three months later than what the AIFF had promised in July in the wake of the team’s historic qualification for the continental event. This is on top of the stark difference between the Indian and Japanese football systems, which is a discussion for another day.
A ray of hope
However, before the surrender to Japan, India, placed 67th in the FIFA world rankings, pushed the 36th-ranked Vietnam to the limit in a breathless game in which they looked the better side for large parts of the second half. It is that performance that India need to use as a yardstick when calibrating themselves for their next match – Chinese Taipei are placed 40th in the world.
Valverde acknowledged as much. “Our encounters against our last two opponents were completely different in nature, and we are not thinking about those defeats and are fully focused on facing Chinese Taipei,” she said.
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“We have no doubts about our preparations. All our players are available, and over the last few weeks, we know what we have to work on and are aware of what it will take for us to qualify.”
India still have a slender chance of reaching the quarterfinals, which means they still have a shot at qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. But they have to beat Chinese Taipei for any of those permutations to come into play.
India would probably be better off if Valverde stuck to whatever she did in the second half against Vietnam. Chief of these would be starting with Sanfida Nongrum, who scored against Vietnam just seven minutes into her international debut, and Rimpa Haldar – the pair of substitutes who made a world of difference in that game with their pace and pressing after being brought on at half time.
The task in front of them is daunting, but by no means unthinkable. Especially for a group of players who have beaten far greater odds in their lives to wear the India colours at the highest level in Asia.
