Nairobi, April 10 A month after its AFC Women's Asian Cup campaign ended in disappointment, the Indian team will face the hosts, Kenya, in the FIFA Series 2026 here on Saturday.
The players will need to quickly put aside the disappointment of missing out on the knockout stage of the continental competition and motivate themselves for the four-team friendly tournament.
With only four teams in the knockout tournament, Saturday's match is effectively a semi-final.
Australia and Malawi will play the other semi-final, also on Saturday.
The semi-final winners and losers will clash in the final and the third-place play-off, respectively, on April 15.
Crispin Chettri, who is once again leading the Blue Tigresses as head coach, said, "The goal is to start building for the future. For the next AFC Women's Asian Cup 2029 qualifiers and the 2031 World Cup qualifiers. We need to start now."
Chettri led India to qualification for the Asian Cup last year, and was a member of the coaching staff during the final tournament.
"I think everyone expected us to at least reach the quarter-finals from the group stage. Even the players had that expectation, so I think they are a little demoralized right now," said Chettri.
India arrived in Nairobi on April 7, and have had two training sessions so far, with another scheduled for Friday before the match against the hosts.
"Mentally, the players are much more prepared now. When they step onto the training pitch, they are only focused on preparing for the next game," Chettri added.
Chettri had named a 22-member squad for the tournament, which is scheduled during the April FIFA International Women's Match Window.