New Delhi: India will battle three higher-ranked teams in Japan, Vietnam and Chinese Taipiei in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup group stage, as per the final draw ceremony that was held in Sydney on Tuesday.
A total of 12 qualified teams will compete in the tournament for which seedings were done based on the FIFA rankings as of June 12. As they were ranked 70th, India were placed in Pot 4 and drew two-time champions Japan (rank 7), Vietnam (37th) and three-time winners Chinese Taipei (42).
India are set to begin their campaign against Vietnam on March 4 at the Perth Rectangular Stadium and face Japan at the same venue three days later. They conclude their group engagements on March 10 against Chinese Taipei at the Western Sydney Stadium.
India advanced to the main stage of the tournament for the first time through the qualifiers, having last played in it 22 years ago when they didn’t have to play in a qualifying round.
They hosted the last edition in 2022 to get an automatic entry but had to withdraw due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the squad.
Crispin Chhetri’s girls had beaten Thailand 2-1 away in their final qualifier with midfielder Sangita Basfore scoring a memorable race in the game.
She was was one of the three draw assistants on Tuesday evening, alongside Australia’s Tameka Yallop and Korea Republic’s Jeon Yu-gyeong.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙩 𝙄𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙩 𝙏𝙤 𝘽𝙚 𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝘼𝙨 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙮 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙨 #WAC2026 promises it all and the excitement begins today.
Who are your early favourites to lift the title on March 21, 2026? pic.twitter.com/BMFC6Ccj1Y
— #WAC2026 (@afcasiancup) July 29, 2025
Tournament hosts Australia are in Group A alongside South Korea, Iran, and Philippines while Group B has North Korea, China, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.
As per the tournament’s format, the top two sides from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will move to the quarter-finals.
The semi-finalists will book a ticket in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil while the beaten quarter-finalists will play in play-offs for two direct spots allocated to Asia for the World Cup.
The teams that lose in the two play-off will get another chance to qualify for the World Cup through the inter-confederation play-offs.
The quarter-finals are slotted to be held from March 13 to 15, while the semi-finals will take place on March 17 and 18, in Sydney and Perth.
The final on March 21 will be hosted at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, the venue for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final.
The draw results:
Group A: Australia, Korea Republic, IR Iran, Philippines
Group B: DPR Korea, China PR, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan
Group C: Japan, Vietnam, India, Chinese Taipei
India’s fixtures:
March 4, 2026: Vietnam vs India (Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth)
March 7, 2026: India vs Japan (Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth)
March 10, 2026: India vs Chinese Taipei (Western Sydney Stadium, Sydney)