Playing their first-ever international fixture in Goa, the Blue Tigresses produced a commanding display from start to finish, showcasing the difference in quality and experience between the two sides. The emphatic result also marked India’s biggest victory in the SAFF Women’s Championship since their 12-0 triumph over Afghanistan in 2014.

Aveka Singh stole the spotlight with a sensational four-goal performance, while Priyangka Devi Naorem and Karishma Shirvoikar added two goals each. Pyari Xaxa, Grace Dangmei, and Sangita Basfore also found the net in a complete attacking performance by the hosts.

India began aggressively and immediately pinned Maldives deep inside their own half through relentless pressing and quick movement across the flanks. The opening goal arrived in the 11th minute when Priyangka bundled home from close range after a well-worked short-corner routine, marking a memorable return from injury with a goal.

The Blue Tigresses continued to dominate possession and create chances at will. Priyangka doubled India’s advantage in the 21st minute after being played through by Aveka, before Pyari Xaxa added a third with a composed finish from outside the box.

India’s attacking rhythm only intensified as Aveka scored directly from a long-range free-kick in the 34th minute, while Grace Dangmei made it five before halftime with a close-range finish following another dangerous set-piece move.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with India continuing to attack despite their comfortable lead. Karishma Shirvoikar made an immediate impact off the bench with two well-taken goals, while Sangita Basfore added another with a powerful strike from the edge of the box.

Aveka then took complete control of the contest, scoring twice in quick succession to complete her first international hat-trick before adding a fourth goal late in the game with a diving header to round off a memorable evening.

India ended the match with complete dominance in every department, controlling possession, creating constant pressure, and maintaining intensity throughout difficult conditions in Goa.

The result sends the Blue Tigresses to the top of Group B with three points from their opening fixture. They will next face Bangladesh women’s national football team on May 31 at the same venue, while Maldives will take on Bangladesh earlier in the week. India could seal qualification to the semi-finals even before their next match depending on other results in the group.

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Chinese Taipei took the lead early in the match when Su Yu-hsuan found the net in the 12th minute following defensive errors in the Indian backline. Despite the setback, the Blue Tigresses continued to push forward in search of an equaliser and created a few promising opportunities through Manisha Kalyan and Soumya Guguloth.

India eventually drew level in the 39th minute when Manisha Kalyan produced a stunning free-kick that struck the underside of the crossbar and crossed the line, with the goal confirmed after a VAR review.

However, Chinese Taipei regained the lead deep into first-half stoppage time in dramatic fashion. Hsu Yi-yun stepped up to take a penalty but struck the woodwork. The rebound bounced off goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu Elangbam and rolled into the net, restoring the Mulan’s advantage before half-time.

India began the second half with renewed urgency and continued to search for another equaliser. Manisha remained a constant threat, while Rimpa Haldar was introduced to add fresh energy to the attack.

Chinese Taipei eventually extended their lead in the 77th minute when Chen Yu-ting capitalised on space behind the Indian defence, rounding the goalkeeper before finishing into an empty net.

Despite the setback, India continued to fight until the final whistle. Manisha Kalyan came close again late in the match with a free-kick that forced a save, and her header from a corner in stoppage time struck the post.

In the end, the Blue Tigresses were unable to recover as Chinese Taipei secured a 3-1 victory. The result confirmed India’s exit from the tournament after the group stage despite a spirited effort from the team.

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Hammarby IF, who are the former champions of the Dammalsvenskan league, rode Nina Jakobsson’s goals in each half to complete a narrow win over India.

India had started off on a brighter note in the first half, as Sangita intercepted the ball near the opposition area and played it in to Pyari Xaxa. The forward tried to dribble the keeper, but was stopped on her tracks.

India kept knocking on the Hammarby doors plenty of times, even as Pyari soared up the wing and played it to Anju whose cross was punched out of the box by the Hammarby keeper.

Indumathi gave India the lead on the half-hour mark, when she jinked past a defender, before rounding the keeper to fire it home. The lead lasted only six minutes, as Jakobsson soon drew level for the Swedish club.

The tides turned once again in India’s favour four minutes later, when a corner by Anju Tamang was headed into the back of the net by Manisa Panna, as the referee soon brought an end to the first half.

Martina, who had replaced the injured Sangita earlier, made a mazy run on the left flank, cut past a defender, before finally being dispossessed.

Hammarby were level a minute later was Amanda Sundstrom headed in a cross, to bring the scores back to level once again.

India soon went looking to get their lead back. Manisha worked her way to the edge of the opposition box before pulling the trigger, but it was straight at the keeper.

With around 12 minutes of regulation time left on the clock, Jakobsson played a part in the winner, which was eventually deemed to have been turned over the line by Ranjana Chanu (own goal).

Starting XI: Aditi Chauhan (GK) (Linthoingambi Devi 55’), Dalima Chhibber, Ashalata Devi (C), Manisa Panna, Sanju (Ranjana Chanu 86’), Sangita Basfore (Martina Thokchom 35’), Indumathi Kathiresan, Anju Tamang (Ritu Rani 77’), Soumya Guguloth (Dangmei Grace 11’), Manisha Kalyan, Pyari Xaxa (Renu 77’).

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The Indian Women’s Team had their preparatory camp in Jamshedpur with infrastructural and logistical aids from the Government of Jharkhand. Following the month-long camp, the Indian Women’s Team played four matches against UAE (4-1) and Tunisia (0-1) in the UAE; Bahrain (5-0) and Chinese Taipei (1-0) in Bahrain.

“It’s a big challenge for us in Sweden, but the girls are motivated to give their best in every game,” said goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan on the eve of the match. “It’s often about who wants more on the pitch, and our girls are certainly pumped up after the results that we have had recently,” she added.

The Indian Women’s Team, under the tutelage of the Swedish coach, scored ten in four games while leaking two, to have registered three wins and one loss.

“These games have been very helpful for the team. They helped us reflect on the team and individual performances. These matches helped us look at our strengths and weaknesses,” Dalima Chhibber continued, “As a team, we are focused on building up to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next year, and competitive matches like these help us plan for the areas where we need to improve.”

Aditi Chauhan thanked the authorities for helping the team arrange a number of competitive friendlies for the team to prepare for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

“I would like to thank the Jharkhand Government and the Federation for arranging the camps and tournaments. It’s great for us to get these opportunities to play matches,” the goalkeeper asserted.

“Playing matches always help you learn more from the training ground. We got a few good results and there have been lots of positives to take back from these games. Even the Tunisia game that we lost helped us learn a lot of things.”

Dalima mentioned that the team is working hard to adapt to the philosophy that coach Thomas Dennerby is trying to inculcate in the team.

“We are working with a new coaching philosophy both on and off the field. The preparations for the flagship tournament is going on in full swing,” she concluded, “We are all looking to prepare the best we can for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.”

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Thomas Dennerby’s girls sent out a strong message with this astounding victory after the heart-wrenching 0-1 defeat against Tunisia in their previous friendly in the UAE.

Sangita Basfore (13′) opened the floodgate before Pyari Xaxa (19′, 68′), Indumathi Kathiresan (34′) and Manisha Kalyan (69′) added another four goals on their tally.

India did not delay on showing their intent right from the get-go when Anju missed the target from a corner in the 4th minute. Two minutes later, Pyari missed a chance after being fed a cross by Dalima Chhibber.

They didn’t need to wait for too long to break the deadlock as Sangita provided them with an early lead in the 13th minute. Six minutes later, Pyari made amends of her previous miss to double the lead.

Skipper Ashalata also tried her luck from a free-kick, but she couldn’t manage to hit the back of the net on the night.

Ranjana Chanu, Dangmei Grace, and Pyari kept the Bahrain defence on their toes throughout and finally, Indumathi joined the party after the half-hour mark.

India dominated in every department to hold on to a 3-0 lead at the end of the first half.

India’s Swedish coach introduced Soumya Guguloth at the break, withdrawing Grace. Ashalata once again came very close to score from a curling free-kick, but only saw her effort going off-target on the 58th minute. Six minutes later, Pyari completed her brace from Sanju’s header.

Within a few seconds, Manisha fired in the fifth goal of the night, which put the match well beyond the hosts.

Pyari got her marching orders 17 minutes from the end of the regulation whistle, but Bahrain could not utilise the numerical advantage and the scoreline remained unchanged till the end.

The Indian Women’s Team will now proceed to play Chinese Taipei in their next friendly match on October 13, 2021 at 8.30 PM IST.

India Starting XI: Aditi Chauhan, Sweety Devi, Ashalata Devi, Sangita Basfore (Martina 64′), Anju Tamang, Pyari Xaxa, Dangmei Grace (Soumya 45′), Indumathi, Ranjana Chanu (Sanju 64′), Manisha (Sumathi 83′), Dalima Chhibber (Michel Castanha 64′).

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The team has already faced UAE (4-1) and Tunisia (0-1) in the two matches in Dubai, and will now travel to Bahrain on Thursday, October 7, 2021 for the next leg of their friendlies. After playing the two friendlies, the Indian Women’s Team will then fly out to Sweden, where they are set to face two Dammalsvenskan (tier 1) sides.

Looking back at the two friendlies in Dubai ahead of the team’s departure to Bahrain, head coach Thomas Dennerby said, “We should have won the game against Tunisia with a couple of goals. We created around 7-8 chances and totally dominated the game, while the penalty that they scored was the only chance they had in the 90 minutes.”

“We need to be better focused and concentrate on converting our chances, going ahead into the upcoming games,” he continued.

Pyari Xaxa, who has been one of the leading performers for India in the last couple of games, believes that the friendlies that the team is playing is helping the players regain a lot of their match day confidence.

“Getting the match experience is good for us was good. Sometimes you are not used to pace when you play after some time, but once you keep playing, you tend to grow more confident about what to do in different situations,” said Xaxa.

“Perhaps we are the sole team playing an International match during the conditions which are prevalent worldwide currently. These matches help you grow as a team. It felt good to win the first game, and it felt equally bad when we lost the second one. As a team, you need to learn how to deal with these situations and try to come back from it. It’s all about how we pick ourselves up and try and improve before the next game,” she continued.

Faced with the prospect of playing difficult opponents in both Bahrain and Sweden, Pyari has set her aim on winning as many matches as the team can.

“We want to win both the matches in Bahrain and then move on with the same aim in Sweden. All I want to do is win those, that’s all I have in my target,” she opined. “These matches are giving us a lot of confidence. I think more such matches like these will only help us in the long run for the AFC Asian Cup, so that we can be completely up to the pace.”

The team had come to the UAE after a month-long training camp in Jamshedpur, where they were training with infrastructural and logistical aid from the Government of Jharkhand. Pyari believes that the quality time that the players have got in the camp to get ready for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup next year will put the squad in good stead for the future.

“The camp in Jamshedpur really helped us get to the desired level of fitness to enter into such matches against competitive teams. The squad is really fit and we all feel ready to take on the opponents,” she observed.

The 23-member squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Aditi Chauhan, Maibam Linthoingambi Devi, Shreya Hooda.

Defenders: Dalima Chhibber, Sweety Devi, Ritu Rani, Ashalata Devi, Ranjana Chanu, Michel Castanha, Manisa Panna, Astam Oraon.

Midfielders: Sangita Basfore, Indumathi Kathiresan, Sanju, Martina Thokchom.

Forwards: Dangmei Grace, Anju Tamang,Sandhiya Ranganathan, Soumya Guguloth, Manisha Kalyan, Sumati Kumari, Pyari Xaxa, Renu.

Friendlies Schedule for the team in Bahrain:

October 10: Bahrain vs India
October 13: India vs Chinese Taipei

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The Indian women had their first chance as early as the second minute but even as Manisha tried to flick in Dalima Chibber’s cross, rival goalkeeper Mariem managed to keep it at bay.

Six minutes later Tunisia surged into the lead as Heuij scored from a free-kick.

Stung, India launched a barrage of attacks in their effort to restore parity. In the 11th minute Manisha ran down the left flank and sent in a cross but the rival defence managed to clear it. Soon after, another cross from Sanju was collected by Mariem.

Some ten minutes later, Indumathi tried to place it in from outside the penalty box, but it missed the target.

The Indian women preferred to play it among themselves, and in the 31^st minute, Manisha’s free-kick missed the target. In the 40^th minute, another free-kick — this time from Dalima sailed wide.

In the 42^nd minute, Indumathi, one of the leaders in the midfield found quite a bit of open space in front of her, and she did take a crack at goal. But it couldn’t find the target, as Tunisia managed to hold on to their early lead till the half-time.

Changing over, Head Coach Thomas Dennerby brought in goalkeeper Shreya Hooda to replace Aditi Chauhan under the bar. Immediately after, India earned a corner but even as Soumya played it to Dalima, the latter’s effort sailed over.

Dennerby went for a double substitution in the 53^rd minute – Ritu Rani and Pyari Xaxa coming in for Ashalata Devi and Renu respectively, as Indumathi took over the captain’s armband. Pyari almost made an instant impact off a corner after Soumya managed to find her. But Pyari’s header went wide.

However, Pyari did manage to nod it home off the next corner which India earned, but the referee disallowed it and blew for a foul against India.

Dennerby went in for another double substitution in the 61st minute – Martina and Sumati replacing Sanju and Manisha.

Tunisia who were holding on to it till then, launched a counter attack in the 63rd minute and it could have helped them double the lead had Shreya not managed to pull off a reflex save.

Dennerby brought in another substitution in the 68th minute – this time Indumathi making way for Sandhiya in midfield. Six minutes later Sandhiya maneuvered herself into some open space and did manage to take a snapshot but Mariem saw it off. And if that wasn’t enough, Mariem also denied Pyari in the 75^th minute after the nippy forward managed to sneak in between the rival defence.

The Indian Women’s Team had earlier beaten UAE 4-1 in their last friendly match in Dubai, with Manisha Kalyan, Pyari Xaxa, Sweety Devi and Anju Tamang scoring one apiece.

The contingent will now travel to Bahrain where they will be playing against Bahrain and Chinese Taipei. The matches are part of India’s preparation for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022, and the first exposure tour under Head Coach Thomas Dennerby, under whom the squad had trained in Jamshedpur for a month with support coming in from the Government of Jharkhand.

INDIA: Aditi Chauhan (Shreya Hooda – 46^th); Astam Oraon, Ashalata Devi (Ritu Rani – 53^rd), Sweety Devi, Dalima Chhibber; Indumathi (Sandhiya—68th), Sangita Basfore, Sanju (Martina – 61^st), Manisha (Sumati – 61^st), Soumya, Renu (Pyari Xaxa – 53^rd).

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The Indian Women’s Team will be playing two friendlies against the UAE National Team, and the Tunisian National Team. The team spent a month in Jamshedpur where they trained with infrastructural and logistical help from the Government of Jharkhand, going through 12 rigorous sessions a week.

Dennerby, who took over the reins of the Senior Women’s National Team earlier this year, comes with a vast experience of having coached the Swedish Women’s Team to the Olympic Final and the Nigerian Women’s Team to the African Women’s Cup of Nations title in the past. Having taken charge of the Indian Women’s Team, Dennerby is hopeful that a good run for India in the Women’s Asian Cup will go a long way in popularising women’s football in the country.

“The mission is to have a successful tournament when we go into the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next year. So we are putting a lot of effort into all the sessions we are doing now. We do five technical and tactical sessions, we do running sessions, we also play friendly games against local sides. We are training hard for the Asian Cup next year,” Dennerby said in a candid chat with www.the-aiff.com on the eve of his side’s first friendly against UAE.

“Back in my home in Sweden, women’s football is huge. In Nigeria, where I’ve also coached, football is like a religion. But here in India, the popularity is perhaps not as much as that. But that is also one of the exciting parts about the job for me,” he beamed. “If we have a successful tournament, it could be huge for India. And if you look at the game, in terms of the physical and tactical parts, I must say that we have a lot of players that can play at a very high level.”

The UEFA Pro License coach brings his own philosophy about the beautiful game into the team, and it is one where the whole squad strives to strike the perfect balance in their harmony on the pitch.

“My philosophy is simple. When it comes to defending, our team has to be organised. Every player has to know exactly what they need to do. We want the team to be compact and we are working on that. And then we also want to this compact team to win the ball back, and when we do that, of course, sometimes we want to counter attack quickly, and sometimes we want to slow it down and play around with the ball,” he explained.

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The team, that is currently camping in Jamshedpur with the help of the Government of Jharkhand, will travel to New Delhi on Wednesday, September 29, from where they will travel to the UAE for two friendly matches against the United Arab Emirates National Team (October 2) and the Tunisia National Team (October 4).

The team will subsequently travel to Bahrain, where they will play two friendlies against the Bahrain National Team (October 10) and the Chinese Taipei National Team (October 13).

Head coach Thomas Dennerby stated, “After training for about a month in Jharkhand, we are extremely happy to be going for these friendly matches in the UAE and Bahrain. These matches will be essential for us to gauge how far the girls have progressed during the training camp, as they will be pitted against some tough teams.”

“We are all looking forward to these matches, and are thankful to the authorities for arranging them during such difficult circumstances in a pandemic,” he said.

Friendlies Schedule:

October 2: UAE vs India
October 4: India vs Tunisia
October 10: Bahrain vs India
October 13: India vs Chinese Taipei

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Aditi Chauhan, Maibam Linthoingambi Devi, Shreya Hooda.

Defenders: Dalima Chhibber, Sweety Devi, Ritu Rani, Ashalata Devi, Ranjana Chanu, Michel Castanha, Manisa Panna, Astam Oraon.

Midfielders: Sangita Basfore, Indumathi Kathiresan, Sanju, Martina Thokchom.

Forwards: Dangmei Grace, Anju Tamang,Sandhiya Ranganathan, Soumya Guguloth, Manisha Kalyan, Sumati Kumari, Pyari Xaxa, Renu.

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Dennerby, who was earlier in charge of the Indian U-17 Women’s World Cup squad, has an experience of over 30 years in coaching several National squads with much success. The UEFA Pro Diploma Holder had guided Sweden’s Women’s National team to a 3rd-place finish in the FIFA World Cup in 2011, and a quarter-final spot in the 2012 London Olympics.

He also served as the Head Coach of the Nigerian Women’s National team wherein he coached the Super Falcons to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. He also helped the Nigerian women to win the AWCON Award 2018, and was awarded the 2018 Coach of the Year in Nigeria.

“I am grateful to the All India Football Federation for finding me suitable for the job. It’s an honour to be taking over as the Head Coach of the Indian Senior Women’s National team,” Dennerby stated. “I have been in India and am aware of the huge potential. It is a big challenge to get the girls ready for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Life is all about challenges, and I relish it,” he added.

AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das averred: “With his vast experience, Thomas will bring in immense value addition to the women’s team. He is acquainted with India and we look forward together for him to improve our team technically, and competitively.”

Dennerby will move to take charge of the Indian U-17 World Cup squad once the AFC Asian Cup ends in February 2022. Till then, the U-17 girls will be training under the watchful eyes of Assistant Coach Alex Ambrose, who will be working in close coordination with Dennerby.

The AIFF in consultation with Thomas Dennerby and relevant stakeholders has also laid down a composite calendar for the development of women’s football, which also targets a number of International exposure tours for the Women’s Team leading to the AFC Asian Cup India 2022 which kicks off on January 20, 2022 — all of which are subject to materialisation in view of the current pandemic situation which prevails all over the world, restricting travel worldwide.

AIFF expects covid restrictions and quarantine rules to get flexible in different countries soon, and with requisite permissions landing from the Governments of the respective countries, the Women’s team will be travelling abroad for International Friendlies.

In addition, subject to the pandemic situation improving in India and with consent coming in from the Government of India, there are plans to host an International tournament for Women’s in India soon.

At the domestic level, the Senior National Championships are planned to be held in November; while a probable window for the Hero IWL is March/April 2022 in Bhubaneswar. The Head Coach was very clear that it would not be prudent to allow National Team players to participate in Hero IWL before the Asian Cup in 2022, and accordingly it will be held after the Asian Cup.

Participation in both the competitions will be granted solely to players/staff who have got themselves fully vaccinated.

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