India’s chances of making out of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 group stage were dealt a mighty blow after the side fell to a 0-11 loss to Japan on Saturday.
While the Blue Tigresses had suffered a narrow 1-2 loss against Vietnam in their campaign opener, Chinese Taipei’s 1-0 win over the Vietnamese earlier on Saturday didn’t help India’s cause.
Here’s a look at India’s chances of making out of the group stage in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026:
Can India qualify for AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 quarterfinals?
India, mathematically, is still in the race, but it will need a whole lot of factors to go in its favour. First, let’s take a look at how Group C is right now after the second matchday:
| Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points |
| Japan (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 6 |
| Chinese Taipei | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 3 |
| Vietnam | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| India | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -12 | 0 |
The top two from each group directly qualifies for the quarterfinals, with two best teams out of the third-placed sides across the three groups also going through. As shown above, India currently sits fourth in Group C.
How can India finish second?
In the event of teams finishing with same points, the tiebreak parameter used will be goal difference in the matches played amongst the teams in question.
India still has the chance to finish second in the group. For that to happen, Japan will have to beat Vietnam and then India will need to beat Chinese Taipei by a margin of two goals. Only after that, India will finish second on account of superior goal difference amongst the three teams tied on points.
How can India finish third?
If India beats Chinese Taipei, and Japan drops points against Vietnam, then the Blue Tigresses will be third. Its advancement from this scenario will depend on the matches in the other groups (Iran vs Philippines on March 8 and Bangladesh vs Uzbekistan on March 9).
Published on Mar 07, 2026
