AFC U17 Women: India will confront a challenging group in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026, where they have been drawn into Group B with Japan, Australia, and Lebanon during the draw held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
The Young Tigresses qualified for the continental competition for the first time in 21 years, defeating Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the qualifiers. This achievement marks a significant advance for India’s youth women’s program, which has made consistent progress over recent seasons. India will start their Group B campaign against Australia, followed by matches against Asia's strong teams, Japan, and debutants Lebanon.
Japan enter as one of the top contenders. The four-time champions, runners-up in 2024, have a strong international record, having won the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in 2014 and finished second in 2010 and 2016. Their consistent performance at both continental and global levels highlights the significant challenge India faces.
