New Delhi, Sep 26 — The India U17 women’s team lost 2-4 to the Philippines in the first of two closed-door friendly matches at the Vagator Football Ground in Anjuna, Goa, on Saturday.
Anushka Kumari (85') and Joya (89') scored for the Young Tigresses. The visitors scored in the 47th, 50th, 68th and 79th minutes.
India will meet the Philippines again on Tuesday.
The Young Tigresses are preparing for the AFC U17 Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers, which will be held in Malaysia from October 5 to 11.
Earlier, the Indian U17 women's team drew 0-0 in both friendly matches against Uzbekistan last week, and while on paper the scoreline might suggest two quiet evenings in the Uzbek capital, the Young Tigresses' Tashkent trip was anything but uneventful.
There were no goals to celebrate at the UFA National Football Centre, but for head coach Joakim Alexandersson, there was much more to look for than the numbers.
With the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers scheduled to be held from October 5 to 11 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the two friendly fixtures against the Central Asian side offered a glimpse of the new U17 batch beginning to find its shape and foundation.
Before that, the India U17 women’s team ended their second friendly against Uzbekistan in a 0-0 draw at the UFA National Football Centre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on August 30.
Both sides had also played a goalless draw in the first friendly on Thursday.
The Young Tigresses will now return to Goa to continue their preparations for the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers. They will play two friendly matches against the Philippines on September 26 and 29. The Asian Cup qualifiers will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from October 5 to 11.