The 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup will be the 20th edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament in Asia competed by the women’s national teams in the (AFC) Asian Football Confederation. India will be the host of the tournament, it will be the second time that the country hosts the competition, the first being in 1979. For the first time in the competition, the final tournament will be expanded from eight teams to twelve.
It will serve as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Five teams will qualify directly for the World Cup via the knockout stage of the Asian Cup (including play-offs for a fifth-place or possibly sixth place), and two more teams will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
The Venues for the tournament
The state of Maharashtra will host the entire tournament. Mumbai, Pune, and Navi Mumbai have been selected as the cities that will host the matches. The championship will be played in Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai, D.Y. Patil Sports Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. In the knockout stages, Chhatrapati Sports Complex will host 2 quarterfinals and 2 semi-finals matches, while D.Y. Patil Sports Stadium Will host 2 quarterfinals and the final match.
The Groups for the tournament
The 12 teams will be divided into 3 groups of 4 teams each. India qualified as the Host nation, while Japan qualified as they were the champions in the last edition. Australia and China qualified as they finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup which was held in Jordan. All other 8 teams have qualified by virtue of qualifiers.
Format of the group stages and how teams will qualify for the knockout stages?
Each team will play the other team once in the group stages. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams from the groups will make it to the quarterfinals. In other words, the top two ranked teams from the three groups will automatically qualify for the quarter-finals stage. While the two other teams that will seal the quarter-finals berth will be decided by the two best third-placed teams in the group stages.
Let’s have a look at the twelve participating teams and their respective squads,
AFC Ranking – 11th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 55th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 8 times (1979, 1981, 1983, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003)
Best Performance – Runners Up (1979, 1983) and 3rd place finish (1981)
INDIA NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 20 (vs IR Iran), D.Y. Patil Stadium
January 23 (vs Chinese Taipei), D.Y. Patil Stadium
January 26 (vs China PR), Mumbai Football Arena
AFC Ranking – 5th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 19th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 14 times (1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Best Performance – Champions (1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2006), Runners Up (2003, 2008), 3rd place finish (2001, 2014, 2018), and 4th place finish (2010)
CHINA NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 20 (vs Chinese Taipei), Mumbai Football Arena
January 23 (vs IR Iran), Mumbai Football Arena
January 26 (vs India), Mumbai Football Arena
AFC Ranking – 8th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 39th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 13 times (1977, 1979, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008)
Best Performance – Champions (1977, 1979, 1981), Runners Up (1989, 1999), 3rd place finish (1991, 1995), and 4th place finish (1993, 1997)
CHINESE TAIPEI NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 20 (vs China PR), Mumbai Football Arena
January 23 (vs India), D.Y. Patil Stadium
January 26 (vs IR Iran), D.Y. Patil Stadium
AFC Ranking – 14th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 70th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 0 times (appearing for the first time)
Best Performance – Group Stages (2022)
IRAN NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 20 (vs India), D.Y. Patil Stadium
January 23 (vs China PR), Mumbai Football Arena
January 26 (vs Chinese Taipei), D.Y. Patil Stadium
AFC Ranking – 2nd in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 11th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 5 times (2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Best Performance – Champions (2010), Runners Up (2006, 2014, 2018), and 4th place finish (2008)
AUSTRALIA NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 21 (vs Indonesia), Mumbai Football Arena
January 24 (vs Philippines), Mumbai Football Arena
January 27 (vs Thailand), Mumbai Football Arena
AFC Ranking – 7th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 38th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 16 times (1975, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Best Performance – Champions (1983), Runners Up (1975, 1977, 1981), 3rd place finish (1986), and 4th place finish (2018)
THAILAND NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 21 (vs Philippines), D.Y. Patil Stadium
January 24 (vs Indonesia), D.Y. Patil Stadium
January 27 (vs Australia), Mumbai Football Arena
AFC Ranking – 13th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 64th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 9 times (1981, 1983, 1993, 1995, 1999, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2018)
Best Performance – Quarterfinals (2018)
PHILIPPINES NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 21 (vs Thailand), D.Y. Patil Stadium
January 24 (vs Australia), Mumbai Football Arena
January 27 (vs Indonesia), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
AFC Ranking – 19th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 94th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 4 times (1977, 1981, 1986, 1989)
Best Performance – 4th place finish (1977, 1986)
INDONESIA NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 21 (vs Australia), Mumbai Football Arena
January 24 (vs Thailand), D.Y. Patil Stadium
January 27 (vs Philippines), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
AFC Ranking – 3rd in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 13th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 16 times (1977, 1981, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Best Performance – Champions (2014, 2018), Runners Up (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001), 3rd place finish (1989, 1993, 1997, 2008, 2010), and 4th place finish (1999, 2003, 2006)
JAPAN NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 21 (vs Myanmar), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
January 24 (vs Vietnam), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
January 27 (vs Korea Republic), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
AFC Ranking – 4th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 18th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 12 times (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Best Performance – 3rd place finish (2003), 4th place finish (1995, 2001, 2014), Quarterfinals (2018)
KOREA REPUBLIC NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 21 (vs Vietnam), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
January 24 (vs Myanmar), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
January 27 (vs Japan), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
AFC Ranking – 6th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 32nd in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 8 times (1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Best Performance – Quarterfinals (2014)
VIETNAM NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 21 (vs Korea Republic), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
January 24 (vs Japan), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
January 27 (vs Myanmar), D.Y. Patil Stadium
AFC Ranking – 10th in Asia
FIFA Ranking – 47th in the World
Previous Appearances in Asian Cup – 4 times (2003, 2006, 2010, 2014)
Best Performance – Group Stages (2003, 2006, 2010, 2014)
MYANMAR NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Group Stage Matches :
January 21 (vs Japan), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
January 24 (vs Korea Republic), Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
January 27 (vs Vietnam), D.Y. Patil Stadium
IFTWC’s Prediction for the winners of AFC Asian Cup India 2022
It’s never easy to predict a tournament before it starts but going by the squad strengths and the form of the team in the recent matches, IFTWC predicts Australia to be the Champions of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. The Socceroos have 17 Europe-based players on the team, the most any team has in the entire tournament. Boasting a star-studded squad along with a balance of youth and experience gives the Matildas an edge over the rest of the eleven teams.
Favorites are a tagline that brings added pressure to the teams and that’s why our Darkhorses for the tournament are Japan and China respectively.
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