🏏 Sat, 7 Mar 2026 20:00 JST
India
vs
Japan Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Japan's second group-stage assignment at the AFC Women's Asian Cup takes them to HBF Park in Perth, just three days after their 4 March meeting with Chinese Taipei. The 25-player matchday squad runs from 35-year-old Saki Kumagai to 21-year-olds Toko Koga and Mashiro Matsukubo, so rotation and how the coaching staff manage the quick turnaround are the first talking points.
- Japan's defensive unit is loaded with central defenders, with Saki Kumagai, Toko Koga and Yuzuki Yamamoto all listed as CBs. Kumagai, a 2011 World Cup winner who claimed back-to-back UEFA Women's Champions League crowns at Lyon before spells at Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and Roma, brings the organisational voice. Koga, only 21, signed a four-year deal at Tottenham in 2025 after breaking through at Feyenoord and was named player of the match on her debut.
- Right-back Miyabi Moriya and centre-forward Mina Tanaka arrive as club team-mates, both having passed through INAC Kobe Leonessa before joining Utah Royals in the NWSL. Moriya, a JFA Academy Fukushima graduate, rediscovered herself after switching from centre-back to wing-back and now relies on pace and endurance. Tanaka, 31, drifts into half-spaces, holds the ball up cleanly and, at 164cm, still generates a fierce shot on the turn.
- The midfield pairing of Yui Hasegawa and Honoka Hayashi shares a West Ham United past. Hasegawa, 155cm and 29, arrived at Manchester City as a creator and has since added genuine ball-winning to her game, becoming one of the WSL's most admired midfielders. Hayashi, now at Everton, offers drive and defensive intensity, and she has the knack for big moments, having scored the goal that ended champions Chelsea's unbeaten run.
- Japan's wide areas are full of goalscorers. Left-footed Hinata Miyazawa, 26, was the 2023 World Cup Golden Boot winner and moved from Mynavi Sendai to Manchester United that same year. Kiko Seike swept the WE League scoring title, MVP award and Best XI before joining Brighton, where she scored a hat-trick on her WSL debut. Remina Chiba, meanwhile, once came off the bench for Frankfurt and completed a hat-trick inside four minutes.
- Chika Hirao takes the gloves, a 173cm goalkeeper who moved to Granada CF in Spain's Liga F in 2025 after building her career at Urawa Reds Ladies and Albirex Niigata Ladies. Her aerial handling and distribution suit a team that wants to play out. Behind her sit Manchester City's Ayaka Yamashita, long regarded as Japan's first choice, and INAC Kobe's Akane Okuma.
- The defensive options on the bench are just as European. Fuka Nagano anchors the midfield at Liverpool, where her two-footed passing range and habit of dropping between the centre-backs stand out. Risa Shimizu, also at Liverpool, and Everton's Hikaru Kitagawa give Japan two more attacking full-backs, while 171cm Moeka Minami, a Serie A Femminile double winner with Roma who joined Brighton in 2025, adds aerial presence.
- Japan's young reserves carry serious credentials. Mashiro Matsukubo, 21, left Mynavi Sendai for North Carolina Courage and played all 26 league matches, scoring 11 goals to finish third in the scoring charts and collecting the NWSL Midfielder of the Year award along with the league's youngest-ever hat-trick. Momoko Tanikawa, 22 and another JFA Academy Fukushima product, scored in three straight Bundesliga games for Bayern Munich.
- The attacking substitutes give Japan plenty of ways to change a game. Riko Ueki won the WE League scoring title with Beleza and became the inaugural WSL Young Hammer of the Year at West Ham. Maika Hamano, 21, went from INAC Kobe to Chelsea and was part of six straight WSL titles. Aoba Fujino joined Manchester City from Beleza in 2024, and Maya Hijikata completed a permanent move to Aston Villa in 2025.
- India name E. Chanu in goal, with P. Xaxa (10), S. Guguloth (7) and M. Kalyan (16) the three forwards in the starting eleven. S. Basfore and A. Singh are the only two listed midfielders, while five defenders start in S. Yumnam, J. Kishan, S. Ngangbam, M. Thokchom and Sanju. Their bench holds 15 players, including two more goalkeepers in S. Hooda and S. Narayanasamy, reflecting the demands of a compressed group phase.