Piyush Khanore
AIFF Media Team

BENGALURU: It’s preparation time for the Indian senior women’s national team, as they aim to find their spot in Asia. The Blue Tigresses are all set to play two FIFA International Friendly matches against Uzbekistan in Bengaluru, to prepare for the AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Coached by Crispin Chettri, the Blue Tigresses, since May 1, have been camping at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence, where they will play the two friendlies against Uzbekistan on May 30 and June 3.

“I think these friendlies will help us go a long way in preparing for the Asian Cup qualifiers,” Chettri said to the-aiff.com. “This is the time when we can pit these players against some quality opponents and figure out what our final 23, or even final 11 will look like. We will try all the players possible for AFC.”

The Blue Tigresses have been drawn in Group B of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers, where they will face Mongolia (June 23), Timor-Leste (June 29), Iraq (July 2), and hosts Thailand (July 5).

Chettri, who was appointed in February this year, has been building his team for the Asian Qualifiers, and believes that the quality matches the Blue Tigresses have played, or are about to play in the lead-up to the qualification campaign, will go a long way in preparing the side. India (ranked 69th) played the likes of Jordan (74th), Russia (27th), and the Republic of Korea (19th) in the Pink Ladies Cup in February, and will follow that up with the two matches against Uzbekistan (50th).

“Matches against such teams tend to build confidence in the players, they build the belief that they can perform against teams that play at a higher level. In the Pink Ladies Cup, only Jordan were at the same level as us,” said Chettri. “The other two matches were obviously difficult for us, but the girls gave a good account of themselves. We were more confident in the second half against Russia, and played well against Korea too.

“Uzbekistan may not be among the cream of the nations in women’s football in Asia, but they are certainly a very good side, and at a level higher than us,” said Chettri. “However, I feel that if we can play well against them, we may be able to get a win.”

In 2025, Uzbekistan have played five, won one, drawn one, and lost three, with the last two defeats coming against China (0-5) and Zambia (3-4). Despite the results, the India head coach holds the White Wolves in high regard.

“I’ve seen their matches, when they played against China and Zambia. They are a physical side, but their players are technically quite sound as well,” said Chettri. “We’ve got a young bunch of players, and it’s time for them to prove a point.

“The main objective is for us to form a core group of players for the future of the senior team over the next couple of years. Once we have a core group of players, we can start building for future tournaments,” he said.