India face Japan in a tough AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 clash

India lost 7-0 against Japan in their last meeting

India looks to bounce back strongly in their second match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 group stage, when they face the daunting task against Japan on Saturday (7 March 2026) at the Perth Rectangular Stadium, Australia.

Having suffered a gutting loss to Vietnam in the opening match, the Blue Tigresses look to pop up a major surprise against one of the major favorites to win the entire tournament.

The stakes

India

The Indian women’s football team actually produced a really hard-working display in their opening AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 clash, giving a major fight to Vietnam but suffering a 2-1 loss because of a goal in the final minutes.

Amelia Valverde will be looking to pick up her players and make them fix the slight errors made against Vietnam, as they need to be at their absolute optimum levels to be able to sustain themselves against Japan.

The Blue Tigresses need to keep a really sturdy defensive shape and every single player must work their socks off to frustrate their opponents, as well as being clinical on the transitions.

A possible win or even draw against this strong Japan side could be huge vindication of how the Blue Tigresses can compete with the best. However, another crushing loss will basically end their hopes of making it past the group stages.

Japan

The Japan national women’s team also had to work really hard to be able to get their 2-0 win over Chinese Taipei in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup opener. Despite being among the favorites for the tournament, the Japanese players are regarding every match as a finale to be able to grind their way to important wins.

Nils Nielsen will be urging his players to be patient but efficient with their build-up play to trouble India, and for them to be quick and incisive in the final third as well.

Another win for Japan will help them qualify for the knockout rounds, but dropping points against India could cause major repercussions in their hopes of winning Group C in the Women’s Asian Cup.

Team news

Nils Nielsen should have the same Japan squad that was available for the opening game against Chinese Taipei.

Fortunately for Amelia Valverde, none of her players picked up injuries against Vietnam and should be available for this upcoming clash.

Head-to-Head record in AFC Women’s Asian Cup

Matches played – 2

India wins – 0

Japan wins – 2

Draws – 0

Predicted lineups

Japan (4-3-3)

Ayaka Yamashita (GK), Miyabi Moriya, Hana Takahashi, Moeka Minami, Hiraku Kitagawa, Yui Hasegawa, Momoko Tanikawa, Fuka Nagano, Kiko Seike, Aoba Fujino, Mina Tanaka

India (4-4-1-1)

Panthoi Chanu (GK), Sanju Yadav, Sweety Devi, Nirmala Devi, Marina Thokchom, Sangita Basfore, Shilky Devi, Rimpa Haldar, Manisha Kalyan, Sanfida Nongrum, Pyari Xaxa

Players to watchout

Mina Tanaka (Japan)

Even though Mina Tanaka didn’t have the most exciting starts to the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, she remains a highly threatening prospect in spearheading their frontline.

The 31-year-old striker has already scored 46 goals for her national team and will be gunning for her first goal in the tournament by harassing the Indian backline.

Tanaka will look to use her clever off-the-ball movement to drag defenders out of their comfort zone and create more room for herself in the final third.

She will aim to get at the end of chances smartly and finish them off with efficiency to help Japan get on top of the game and get a big win over the Blue Tigresses.

Sangita Basfore (India)

With India likely to have to play without the lion’s share of possession against Japan, they will learn how to be at their resilient best in the game as well.

That enhances the importance on Indian midfielder Sangita Basfore to be at her energetic best in the upcoming clash against Japan.

She will need to work her socks off in covering a lot of ground in the midfield, closing down opposition players and restricting their flow of movement in their build-up play through the central areas.

Basfore has to be proactive with her pressing in order to put the opposition players under pressure and win the ball back in crucial positions for her side. She also needs to be proactive in trying to make more forward runs and potentially get at the end of chances to improve India’s chances of scoring.

Did you know?

• Sanfida Nongrum scored her first-ever goal for the Indian women’s football team in their loss to Vietnam.
• Japan have won the AFC Women’s Asian Cup title twice, in 2014 & 2018.
• The last time India and Japan faced each other resulted in a 7-0 win for Japan.

Broadcast Details

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup clash between India and Japan will take place on Saturday, 7 March (2026) at the Perth Rectangular Stadium.

The match will kick off at 4:30 PM IST. It will be streamed live on the FanCode app.

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