Good intent, lack of experience and other talking points from India's FIFA Women's Series 2026 campaign in Kenya
India defeated Malawi for third place in FIFA Women’s Series 2026.
The Indian women’s national team secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Malawi in the third-place play-off of the FIFA Series 2026 at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
The Indian team, led by head coach Crispin Chettri, played 2 matches in the FIFA Women’s Series 2026 Kenya against Kenya and Malawi. The team conceded 4 goals in total with 2 each in both games, and scored 3 goals. They lost the first game against Kenya 2-0 and won the second game 3-2 against Malawi.
Even the win against a low-ranked Malawi did not come very convincingly; let us look at the talking points from India’s campaign in the FIFA Women’s Series 2026 Kenya.
A young team with good intent
India may have struggled in this campaign, especially against lower-ranked opposition, suffering a defeat to Kenya and only narrowly getting past Malawi. However, this was a squad built largely around youngsters, with very few players carrying significant international experience.
For several members of the team, these were their first few matches in national colours.
While India were clearly outplayed by Kenya and also went through difficult phases against Malawi, the side still showed the intent and fighting spirit. Particularly against Malawi, despite being dominated in patches, the team displayed resilience, purpose, and a willingness to compete.
With such a young core gaining valuable experience, this campaign could well mark the beginning of a fresh and hopeful new cycle for Indian women’s football.
Lack of experience hindered the campaign
One of the main reasons for India’s average performance in this campaign is that the team had players without much experience. A number of players were early on in their time on the national team which meant the Indian team didn’t have the maturity necessary at critical moments during games.
This lack of experience was evident in the loss to Kenya as it felt like they could not deal with the dominance of Kenya’s play before, during, and after the match.
India also had times during their match against Malawi where they were unable to compete mentally and physically for long periods of time.
Experience in the international game is a huge factor when it comes to making good decisions, managing the game, and dealing with difficult situations. Therefore, the team did suffer a little in their absence.
While India’s lack of experience played a large part in not getting the results during his campaign, there were also many things learned that will help develop this group of players to become stronger in the next cycle.
New players new positions
This campaign also gave head coach Crispin Chettri an opportunity to experiment with both players and positions. Several youngsters were deployed in unfamiliar roles, allowing the coaching staff to assess their adaptability at the international level.
A key example was young midfielder Aveka Singh, who was used as the number 9 in both matches in the absence of experienced players like Pyari Xaxa, Manisha Kalyan, Dangmei Grace and Soumya Guguloth.
Despite naturally being a midfielder, Aveka looked promising in the advanced role on several occasions, showing good movement and intent in the attacking third.
She also capped off her performance with a brilliant first goal in Indian colours against Malawi just before half-time, highlighting her potential in a more forward position.
Overall, this FIFA Women’s Series campaign gave Crispin Chettri the chance to try out new ideas, test young players in different roles, and take away both positives and negatives as the team begins to shape its next cycle.
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Ayushman Sharma is a sports enthusiast with a deep love for football, following the game closely since 2018. A hardcore supporter of NorthEast United FC and FC Barcelona, he has also gained valuable on-ground experience by volunteering during FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Guwahati.