India vs Iraq Preview, team news, lineups | AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers

India begin their AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers campaign against Iraq.

The India U-17 women’s national team are poised to have a challenging start to their 2027 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers when they face off against Iraq U-17 women on Monday, 5 October (2026) at the MP Selayang Stadium.

Knowing that only one team will be able to progress from their group, both sets of youngsters will be gunning for a promising start to their campaign, and it’s a clash where Joakim Alexandersson’s players need to show grit to get a big win to enhance their qualification chances.

The Stakes

India U-17 Women

The India U-17 women’s national team were able to make a pretty decent impact at the 2026 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup, reaching the quarterfinals! Now, they are looking to qualify for the competition for the second straight edition, but need to get maximum points from their three matches to do so.

Heading into this with just one win in their last five matches, Alexandersson’s side are looking to regain their momentum against Iraq U-17.

He will need to urge them to maintain total control of the game by being slick and decisive in possession, and his youngsters to be positive enough to be fearless on the attack. India U-17 women need to be clinical in taking and converting their chances to be able to get a big win and get a major shot of confidence.

That is because they know a draw or loss can negatively impact their qualification chances and cause doubt to creep up within the squad.

Iraq U-17 Women

The Iraq U-17 women’s national team, of course, has never qualified for an AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup edition, and they are still trying to climb the ladder in the continental youth football scene. They have never qualified for a major tournament and will probably need to thrive under the tag of the ‘underdog’ in AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup qualification matches.

The Iraqi youngsters will need to hold together a really strong defensive line to be able to frustrate the Indian players and stop them from playing their natural game. They’ll also need to be clever in transition and set-pieces to be able to get enough goal-scoring chances.

A win or even a point from this clash can be a huge morale booster for the Iraq U-17 women’s side, but a crushing loss would be demoralising.

Team News

Joakim Alexandersson has named a 23-individual squad for his India U-17 women’s side for the upcoming qualifiers.

Iraq U-17 women also have some of their best youngsters involved in the squad for the Women’s U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Head-to-Head record

This will mark the first-ever meeting between the India U-17 women and Iraq U-17 women’s national teams.

Predicted Lineup

India U-17 (4-2-3-1):

Munni (GK), Ritu Bakaik, Abhista Basnett, Ambalika Chanu, Taniya Tonambam, Thandamoni Baskey, Julan Nongmaithem, Redima Chingkhamayum, Alka Senjam, Pratika Barman, Anushka Kumari

Players to Watchout

Anushka Kumari (India U-17)

The India U-17 women’s side has a lot of firepower to rely on when taking on their opponents, but a lot of the goal-scoring responsibilities will be on their in-form striker Anushka Kumari. The young striker was able to score a brace in India U-17 women’s recent friendly win over the Philippines U-17 women, and even scored in their loss to the side prior to that.

Kumari might not have gotten that much of a showing at the 2026 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup, but she is absolutely motivated to guide her side into the tournament for the second successive edition.

Kumari will look to be a tormenting factor against the Iraq U-17 women’s side, troubling their defenders with her clever off-the-ball movement to disrupt the opposition’s shape. She will also look to be smart with her link-up play to get the ball up into the danger zones quickly.

However, the young striker’s primary job will be to get to the end of chances inside the penalty area and put them away efficiently to help the young Indian side get a big win to kick off the qualifiers.

Did you know?

• The 2026 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup was the first continental competition in which India U-17 women’s side participated in.
• The Iraq U-17 women’s side biggest-ever win is a 1-0 win over Palestine U-17 women, which they picked up in September 2016.
• Anushka Kumari has already scored 18 goals for the India U-17 women’s national team, including three in her last two appearances for them.

Telecast Details

The 2027 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers clash between India and Iraq will take place on Monday, 5 September (2026). The match will kick off at 1:30 PM IST. It is likely to be broadcast live on YouTube.

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