AFC Asian Cup: Women’s team coach Amelia Valverde is ready for the challenges of an India assignment

Panaji: Amelia Valverde has coached Costa Rica at the FIFA World Cup twice, won trophies in multiple countries for clubs, yet nothing could prepare her for the India assignment. Having put together a meticulous plan that saw India play different kind of opposition ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 in Australia, the chief coach was staggered when, two days before the opener, she discovered that the jerseys for the players were sizes smaller. The Costa Rican was furious and cancelled a scheduled online media interaction with journalists in India.
Such ‘challenges’ aren’t unique to football. Valverde now has a battle on her hands as India seek to get out of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup group and qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil next year. “If I didn’t have the clarity that there is always a possibility (of qualification), I would not have accepted this responsibility,” Valverde told TOI on the eve of the opener against Vietnam.
“I get asked about the World Cup a lot and I am always careful with what I say. We do not know what the result will be, that is not in our control at this moment. What is in our control is training well, preparing to the best of our abilities and providing the players with as many tools as possible for what lies ahead. We are full of belief,” she asserted.
Valverde, 39, was a late appointment as coach of the national team. It was only in mid-January that she took charge of the team in Turkiye, replacing Crispin Chettri, who is now the assistant. Since then, she has spent 45 days with the squad and remains impressed with their “fighting spirit and belief.”
“It is not by chance that they achieved a historic qualification. This is a team that likes to train, likes to work, has a very clear objective and disciplined enough to reach the objective they want,” she said.
The objective is clear: navigate a difficult group that has former world champions Japan, World Cuppers Vietnam and a strong Chinese Taipei. India are the lowest ranked side in the group, but for a side that defeated Thailand to get to Australia and have trained together for such a long time, making it to the knockout stage should be within reach.
“One of the positive aspects of this camp is that we have had time. We played several friendlies against different types of opponents, club sides. We tried to make the most of these games, giving minutes to all players, so they could arrive with a good competitive rhythm. We have tried to take advantage of everything available — time, matches, training sessions, concentration periods, strength sessions, video sessions —to arrive with the best possible rhythm,” said Valverde.
The team was bubbling with excitement when it landed early in Australia to acclimatise: from the cold of Turkey to the humidity Down Under. Then, during a training session, India lost Anju Tamang, one of its most important players, to injury.
“Anju’s injury has been the saddest chapter of this journey,” said Valverde. “It’s very painful because of how it happened. She had to undergo surgery in India, so could not remain with the group. It’s a serious injury, Achilles tendon rupture. Recovery can take months. It’s a blow to the group, from a sporting perspective, of course, but emotionally as well, because of who she is, the role she plays, her importance and her history with the national team. It has been the most difficult moment so far, a sad situation.”
India face Vietnam in the opener on Wednesday.
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