At the 2026 Women's Asian Cup finals, the Vietnamese women's team is in Group C with opponents Japan, Taiwan (China) and India. The group situation is assessed to have a clear stratification in ranking and international experience, as each team possesses a different development foundation and achievement history.
Currently, the Japanese women's team is ranked 8th in the world and leading in Asia. This team has maintained stability at the continental level for decades, continuously participating in the semi-finals of the last 15 Asian Cups and has not left the top 4 strongest teams since 1986.
Although only 2 times champion of Asia out of a total of 20 times organized, most recently in 2018, the Japanese women's team is still ranked in the group competing for the championship thanks to its in-depth force and international competition experience.
From December 2024, this team is led by coach Nils Nielsen - former captain of the Danish and Swiss women's national teams. He is the first foreign strategist in the history of the Japanese women's national team. Their current force has many players playing in Europe and the US such as Ayaka Yamashita, Moeka Minami, Mina Tanaka or Maika Hamano.
Meanwhile, Taiwan (China) ranked 40th in the world and was once a "power" of Asian women's football from the late 1970s to the early 1980s with 3 consecutive championships.
After a long period of decline, this team shows signs of returning when they reached the quarter-finals of the 2022 tournament and won a ticket to the 2026 finals with the top spot in Group D of the qualifying round.
In this round, Taiwan (China) won against Pakistan 8-0, surpassed Kyrgyzstan 3-0 and defeated Indonesia to win the only spot. The team's coaching staff assesses that the opportunity to compete in Group C of the 2026 Asian Cup finals is relatively balanced between the teams behind Japan.
Meanwhile, the Indian women's team is currently ranked 67th in the world and has twice won the Asian runner-up position in history. However, since 2003, this team has only returned to the finals.
In the qualifiers, India won all 12 points after victories over Mongolia, Timor Leste, Iraq and Thailand. Notably, the country's Football Federation appointed coach Amelia Valverde last January.
The 39-year-old coach has twice taken Costa Rica to the Women's World Cup. Although the continental competition experience is not much in the recent period, India shows new investment in expertise and the goal of passing the group stage.
The Vietnamese women's team is currently ranked 36th in the world. According to professional assessments, Japan is a superior opponent in terms of level, while matches against Taiwan (China) and India have a direct significance for the ability to compete for a ticket to the next round.
Coach Mai Duc Chung and the coaching staff have developed separate plans for each opponent, focusing on the factor of organizing the playing style and adaptability to the diễn biến of each match.
