New Delhi: The route to the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia was set to mark the time when Indian women’s football would finally emerge from the shadows and take the much-anticipated leap forward. With six World Cup spots on the line, the Blue Tigresses felt the pulse of history beneath their roots. Instead, the campaign, with three defeats in three games, dissolved into what many could describe as a booming sequence of managerial gambles and subsequent on-field heartbreak, leaving the players to pick up the pieces of a shattered dream.Sangeeta Basfour, a midfield general who lived the nightmare up close while playing all three matches at the tournament earlier this month, tries to hide the deep collective sadness behind the rhetoric of professional development.
“None of us are satisfied with our performance because the result was not ours,” he told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive interview. “The coach had a lot of expectations from me. But personally, I feel I didn’t give my best and support the team the way I should have… but to play against top players on such a big stage. That in itself was a big achievement for us.”
An approach that leaves more questions than answers.
The chaos began long before the opening whistle in Perth. In a move that surprised many observers, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) took a more foreign-friendly approach a few weeks before the tournament. He demoted domestic coach Crispin Chhetri, the man who orchestrated the famous qualification win against Thailand, to the role of assistant. He was replaced by Amelia Valverde, a Costa Rican tactician with two World Cup qualifiers on his resume, signed on a short-term two-month deal.Preparations looked seamless on paper as the team spent around 40 days in Antalya, Turkey, testing themselves against European clubs.
Team India in the huddle (photo by @IndianFootball on X)
“Honestly, our preparation was very good,” Bosphorus recalled. “We played against teams from Ukraine and Russia … Champions League-level club teams. We won almost every match.” But as the team moved from the Mediterranean air of Turkey to the high-stakes pressure of Australia, cracks began to appear.“As the matches got closer, we were getting more excited and also a bit nervous. Until we played the first match, we couldn’t really predict how we would perform. No matter how much you prepare, on such a big stage, there is always uncertainty,” admitted the 29-year-old. “After the first match, we became more serious. We still regret that we feel that the World Cup opportunity was taken away from us.”
A coaching carousel
With the AIFF not intending to extend Valverde’s contract, it suggests that their stopgap solution to success has run out.According to several reports, his short-lived tenure had tactical ups and downs, with the AIFF Technical Committee recently terming his tenure as “disappointing”. He cycled through three different formations in three group games. On-field results were disastrous, with three defeats, zero points, and an 11–0 defeat by eventual champions Japan.
India’s Sangeeta Bosphorus (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Bosphorus believes that Valverde had little time. “She’s a very good coach. The West Bengal-born midfielder told the website that if she had more time with us, she would have understood us even better. There really wasn’t a problem.”Despite an 11-0 scoreline against Japan, Bosphorus refused to believe that the gap was insurmountable for Indian football. Looking at her other opponents, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei, she insists the difference was not quality, but execution and perhaps a bit of luck. “If you look at teams like Vietnam or Chinese Taipei, there is no big difference. We could have done better. We fought hard as a team, we were also unlucky; a lot of our shots hit the post,” he admitted.“If we had a longer camp and played more friendlies, it would have helped.”
What’s next?
The road to salvation now leads to Nairobi. In April 2026, the Blue Tigresses will participate in the FIFA series, facing hosts Kenya at the Nyayo National Stadium. It’s a chance to reset against different opposition, including Malawi and of course the Australian side that hosted their recent continental woes.
It would have helped if we had a longer camp and played more friendly matches.
Sangeeta Bosphor, Indian women’s national team midfielder
However, there is optimism, anger at the request for structural change. For Bosphorus, the nightmare in Australia wasn’t just about tactical formations or foreign versus domestic coaches. It was about the day-to-day reality of Indian sports. Also read: At $256K, what’s next for Nepal? A hand from Competitive Cricket, Infra Boost and India“Improving grassroots development and extending the tenure of the Women’s League will go a long way,” she asserted.“When players go back home, they don’t always get proper training or facilities. If the league runs longer, the players will be better, and the national team will perform better.”
