India win the opener of SAFF U17 Women’s Championship with huge margin

India's U-17 Women's football team made a statement win against Nepal in the very first match of the SAFF U17 Women's Championship 2025, taking place in Nepal. In the opening match on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, the Young Tigresses thrashed Nepal in a 7-0 win at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.

The 7 sensational goals came from four different scorers, three of whom scored a brace. The players who got their name on the scoresheet include Nira Chanu Longjam (25’, 56’), Abhista Basnett (16’ 41’), Anushka Kumari (33’, 62’), and captain Julan Nongmaithem (45+1’).

India thrash Nepal in a scintillating 7-0 match

The U17 Indian team indeed had a promising start to their campaign after managing to put 7 goals across Nepal's defence on Wednesday. Nepal failed to net a single goal on the night.

The SAFF U17 Women's Championship 2025, which began on August 20, 2025, will conclude on August 31, 2025 with India facing Bangladesh in the final fixture.

The 7th edition of the championship has introduced the double round-robin format where a particular team will face each opponent twice. The team with the highest point at the end of the Championship will be declared the champions of the tournament.

With four teams competing in total - India, Bangladesh, Nepal and hosts Bhutan- the Young Tigresses will play a total of six matches. With such a competitive tournament, it was important that India start off strongly and they have delivered as expected.

India had an early lead with Basnett registering the first goal on the 16th minute mark. They went into half-time with a solid 5-0 lead and sealed their victory in the second half. Nepal fought hard from the very beginning, posing difficulty to the Young Tigresses. However, India's resilience and strength shone through.

According to the All India Football Federation, "Nepal didn't allow India to assert their dominance from the first whistle. But it was only a matter of time before the Young Tigresses' cohesive structure, the result of months of training since January, began becoming evident. The midfielders gradually began dictating tempo...while the forwards constantly found pockets of space to create havoc."

Talking about the defence, they stated, "The backline, though tested early, remained compact and resilient. Goalkeeper Munni produced a solid display, securing a clean sheet and marshalling her defence with confidence"

The Young Tigresses look forward to a successful SAFF campaign

With head coach Joakim Alexandersson, India will work to seize victory in all their matches and emerge champions at the end of the tournament. Though short, the Championship is challenging and is expected to test their resilience.

During a press conference before the match, Captain Julan Nongmaithem from Manipur had said, "We are confident. We have been training in Bengaluru since January. The mood is very positive, and we believe we can go all the way as champions. We are prepared to give our 100 per cent." The 14 year old is one of the of the youngest in the 23-member squad and plays as a midfielder.

India will take on Bangladesh in their next SAFF Championship match, on August 22, 2025.

The Young Tigresses who played in the resounding victory against Nepal, either as part of the starting XI or as substitutes are, Munni (GK), Julan Nongmaithem (C) ( Bonifilia Shullai 63’), Devi Sarangthem, Taniya Devi Tonambam (Pritika Barman 46'), Elizabed Lakra, Divyani Linda, Anushka Kumari (Valaina Jada Fernandes 75’), Shveta Rani, Abhista Basnett (Thandamoni Baskey 63’), Nira Chanu Longjam (Pearl Fernandes 75’), Alisha Lyngdoh.

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