AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 India Rival Watch: Japan

India will play against Japan in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 on March 7

The Indian Women’s Football Team are poised to face some challenging opposition in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 in what is expected to be a tough group stages for the Blue Tigresses. Their toughest opponent, arguably, in the group stages will be that of the Japan national women’s football team, who are heavy favorites to win the entire tournament.

Japan are determined to win the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after having last won the tournament in 2018 and being eliminated in the semi-finals in the 2022 edition.

The Japanese women’s team boast world-class players who are playing all over Europe for major teams, and they will be a menacing team for India and every other team in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Japan are heading into the tournament as the world no.8 side in the FIFA Women’s Rankings, the highest ranked Asian team in the rankings.

They will be aiming to torment their opponents and come with full force in the Women’s Asian Cup, which will make facing the Japanese side a daunting task for India and the other teams.

Here, we look at more about the Japan national women’s team before the Women’s Asian Cup.

About the Team

The Japan national women’s football team have been playing since the 1970s, but the official national team was only created in the 1980s. In their first-ever match in 1981, the Japan national women’s football team suffered a 1-0 defeat to Chinese Taipei, and it was only from the mid-1980s onwards that the Japan women’s team started playing on a regular basis.

The 1990s was a disappointing one for Japanese women’s football because of economic issues, but they started to get rejuvenated after the turn of the 21st century. For one, Japan have qualified for every single FIFA Women’s World Cup since 1991 and even won the tournament in 2011 – becoming the first Asian team to do so.

They have also regularly played in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup since 1986, finishing as the runners-up four times before finally winning the tournament in 2014. They also reclaimed the title in 2018, before suffering defeat in the semifinals in the 2022 edition in India.

Along with their success in the Women’s Asian Cup and Women’s World Cup, the Japan women’s national team has also won the Asian Games gold medal three times. They even reached a high of climbing up to third place in the FIFA Women’s Rankings from 2011-2014 and are currently ranked at no.8.

Recent performances

The Japan national women’s football team have won two of their last three matches, as they directly qualified for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. They have opted against playing any matches in 2026 before the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, but they did play 15 matches in 2025 in preparation for the tournament.

Even though Japan suffered losses to the Brazil and Spain national women’s team in 2025, they were also able to get big wins over Canada, USWNT and Australia as well! They scored 30 goals in their 15 matches, which also included a huge 6-1 thrashing of Colombia in an unofficial friendly match.

The Coach

Nils Nielsen has been working as the manager of the Japan women’s national team since 2024, having been appointed mostly because of his impressive work for other teams. He helped Denmark finish as the runners-up in the UEFA Women’s Euros 2017 and even finished in second place in FIFA’s The Best Women’s Coach award in 2017.

Nielsen has helped Japan compete at a pretty high level against formidable opponents with their matches in 2025, with the Japanese side defeating teams like USWNT and Canada in rather compelling fashion. The 54-year-old is someone to encourage a defiant attacking style, with Japan showing a lot of bravery in their matches against challenging opponents under him.

Nielsen likes his players to line up in an attack-minded 4-3-3 formation, where they can move around freely in the opposition half and be clinical on the transitions. He likes them to take the fight to their opponents by using width to their advantage to trouble defenders.

Nielsen likes urging his players to cut in from the wide areas and play smart cut-back passes into the box to trouble defenders and create chances.

He also likes his players to employ a high press style, urging them to put the opponents under pressure to make them lose the ball in dangerous areas.

Japan have produced some thrilling, slick attacking football under Neilsen, who aims to get the very best out of them to guide them to the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup success.

Players to watchout

Mina Tanaka

Mina Tanaka is the leader of the Japan women’s national football team attack, having gained a ton of experience in playing at the top level. The 31-year-old forward might be in for what might be her final AFC Women’s Asian Cup tournament, but she is still going strong and will look to be a tormenting factor for her side.

Tanaka is the highest-scorer in the current Japan women’s squad with 46 goals to her name and is only three appearances away from reaching the 100-games mark for her side.

Tanaka is a really dangerous forward who loves to outwit defenders with her smart off-the-ball movement and impressive positioning in the danger areas in the final third.

Tanaka will look to be the X-Factor for her side in the Women’s Asian Cup by nailing her positioning and finishing off chances clinically to be able to help take her side all the way to winning the tournament once again.

Yui Hasegawa

The Manchester City women’s star has been a commanding figure in the Japan women’s team midfield for many years now. Hasegawa has been renowned for her versatility that allows her to basically play anywhere in the midfield, as well as being able to operate in a wide position if required. In recent years, Hasegawa has mostly transitioned herself to play in a defensive midfield role because of her excellent passing qualities, ability to beat the press and ball-winning qualities.

She can be a real work horse on the pitch, making a difference in the midfield battle and helping her side dominate possession in matches.

Hasegawa will look to be a positive energy in the Japan women’s team midfield in the Women’s Asian Cup, using her in-game IQ and game-reading skills to win the ball back in crucial positions and driving her side forward in dangerous counterattacks.

What to expect?

Japan are definitely one of the major favorites to win the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, having won two of the last three editions! They might not have played that many preparation matches in 2026, but Nils Nielsen’s players are definitely at a high level of match sharpness because of the high-quality matches they are used to playing in Europe or America.

Japan are definitely going to be a nightmare for the Indian side and the others in Group C, as they look to dominate matches and score lots of goals.

The Blue Tigresses will need to hold together an extremely sturdy defensive shape and maintain high energy levels to be able to hold their own against the Japanese players, who will not show any signs of slowing down.

Japan are likely to go deep into the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup and are favorites to win their group. When it comes to the possibility of winning it, that’ll depend on how ruthless Nielsen can make his side to be able to overcome major obstacles and be at their efficient best in the major games.

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