AFC U20 Asian Cup: India lose to Japan in opener – Highlights
Catch all the highlights from the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup clash between India and Japan.
Indian women's U20 team to kickstart the 2026 Asian Cup against Japan. (Photo Credits: AIFF)
The Indian women's u20 football team began their 2026 AFC U20 Asian Cup campaign with a tough match against Japan in Thailand on Thursday.
The Indian team, led by Shubhangi Singh, had its task cut out against the six-time champions, facing a massive 0-6 defeat despite having just a 1-goal deficit at half-time.
The Indians have spent months training together in training camps, played multiple international friendlies and had exposure tours to ready themselves for this moment.
As it happened:
Do tune in for India's second game of the tournament on April 5th against Australia.
Japan increased the tempo in the second half and increased the number of attacks, resulting in a lot of mistakes from India's defence, and they conceded 5 goals in the second half.
India could not make a significant attack in the second half, as compared to the first half, and hence faced a massive 0-6 defeat in their opening game of the tournament.
India 0-4 Japan
A brilliant cut back from Tago to beat her marker and then take a precise shot to find the inside of the upright, which deflected it into the net, giving Japan a big lead.
India 0-3 Japan
Captain Subhangi has been subbed because of an early yellow card in the first half. Shruti Kumari is replacing her in the left back position.
India 0-3 Japan
Unmarked Fukushima easily converted a minus pass from Honda after making a sharp cut from the centre and finding the back of the net in a one-on-one with goalkeeper.
The Indian women's team looked good in the first half, although Japan put a lot of pressure on the Indian defence, but it was well defended except for a deflected own goal in the 4th minute.
Lhingdeikim looked the best player on the pitch, pushing Japan behind with her quick and skilful runs, making quite a few chances for the Indian forward line.
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