Akhil Rawat
AIFF Media Team
BENGALURU: In their first match of 2025, India’s senior women’s team will compete in the first of two FIFA international friendly matches to be played at the Padukone Dravid Sports Excellence Center in Bengaluru on Thursday, January 2, 2025. They will play against Maldives in the second match. The match will be live streamed. On Indian Football YouTube Channel.
After a 14-0 win in the first game on Dec. 30, coach Joakim Alexandersson made six changes to his 23-man squad for Thursday’s game. Five of them, who started in the first game, were released from the team: Pyari Saxa, Linda Kom Sert, Grace Danmei, Juri Kishan, and Sanju. Linda and Piari also scored four and three goals, respectively.
In their place, Monisha Sinha (striker), Anusha Mandala (midfielder), Simbaijam Sanjita Devi (defender), Kumukucham Bhumika Chanu (midfielder) and Tamannaah (defender) have joined us. . Elsewhere, Revanshi Jammu has replaced goalkeeper Nandini.
“The reason for these changes was that we thought we were a bit too big against these opponents, so we sent back a few experienced players and replaced them with a few young players who were joining the senior team for the first time. It’s going to be a good experience for them.
“I think these six guys performed pretty well in the U20 session. They deserve a chance to play for the national team in games like this,” Alexandersson said.
Eight players have earned their first senior India caps in the first match, with more expected to make their debuts on Thursday. For the U20s, the camp is an opportunity to qualify for a friendly list, and Alexandersson is delighted to see the hunger from the girls at every training session.
“You can see their hunger. You can see the effort they put into every training session to get a chance to play for the national team.”
Alexandersson stressed the importance of correcting mistakes, even if they were minor or did not affect the outcome of the match. Errors like this are usually overlooked after big wins, but Blue Tigres deserves attention there.
“We need to improve in terms of defensive positioning and transitions. There are positives and negatives from the last game. Also, as a former player, when you play against teams like this, you tend to forget about defense. I also know that it is much weaker.
“I also want to remind them of how good our positioning was in terms of the build-up and the fact that we can improve even if we play against weaker teams. “I want to come.” It’s a play that we’re starting to use in training,” Alexandersson said.
