Indian Women's Team to play against Brazil, Chile and Venezuela to prepare for AFC Asian Cup 2022

In a huge positive for Indian football, the women's team is all set to play in the Manaus 2021 International Women's Football Tournament in Brazil. The four-nation tournament includes Brazil, Chile and Venezuela.

India will be participating in this tournament to gain invaluable gametime and experience in the build-up to the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022, which is set to commence in India from January 2022.

The Brazilian Women's Team are ranked 7th in the FIFA Rankings and are the toughest opponents India will face in the tournament. Chile are ranked 37th while Venezuela are ranked 56th, one place above India. The match against Brazil, who have won the Copa América Femenina for a record 7 times, will be one of the biggest matches Indian football has ever seen.

The Indian side is coached by Thomas Dennerby. He was the head-coach of the Indian Women's U-17 team before the cancelation of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2020. Dennerby was then brought in to manage the senior team a couple of months back.

India will host the AFC Women's Asian Cup next year.

India had played four international friendlies a few weeks back and emerged victorious in 3 of them. The women lost against Tunisia by a narrow 1-0 margin but beat UAE, Bahrain and Chinese Taipei. The win against Chinese Taipei was special, considering that the opponents are ranked 17 places above India.

The team also played against top division Swedish clubs Hammarby IF and Djurgarden IF to prepare for the tournament next year. The Indian coach had coached both clubs during his managerial career and even took Djurgarden to the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final in 2004.

The Brazilian Women's Team recently played in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games where they reached the quarterfinals. The most well-known name in their side is Marta Vieira da Silva, who holds the record for being Brazil's top international goalscorer of either gender, with 112 goals.

India's schedule for the tournament

November 25 - Brazil vs India

November 28 - India vs Chile

December 1 - India vs Venezuela