AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers: Japan vs India Live Updates

3:20 PM: Hello everyone and welcome to Khel Now’s LIVE COVERAGE of the Japan vs India match in the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers. The kick-off is just 30 minutes away! I am your host Aishwarya Chakraborty and will keep you company through what promises a fascinating evening of football. Please wait for 30 Seconds for the Live blog to load.

AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers: Japan vs India - Build-up

There are challenges, and then there are challenges. The Indian senior women’s team, who had effortlessly trounced Kyrgyz Republic in the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifiers Round 1 in April, will open their Round 2 campaign against one of the world’s best, Japan. The clash with the former world champions will take place on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent at 15:30 IST.

The Blue Tigresses landed in the Uzbek capital on Monday evening after a training camp in Abha, Saudi Arabia. With the weather not too dissimilar in Tashkent, which is only slightly cooler, and having played in Uzbekistan as recently as March, Thomas Dennerby and his side haven’t taken too long to get settled.

India were last in competitive action in the 19th Asian Games in China last month, losing both games to Chinese Taipei and Thailand, two higher-ranked teams. All teams in India’s group in the Olympic Qualifiers (Vietnam and Uzbekistan are the others) also have higher rankings. But those are only numbers on paper, according to head coach Thomas Dennerby.

“Ranks are on paper. Matches are played on the pitch. Japan are one of the best in the world, but there is always a chance for a lower-ranked team to win the game. And if we have a good start, then we can make Japan a little bit nervous. So hopefully, my players will have a good day tomorrow,” said the Swede at the pre-match press conference.