India’s historic qualification to the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026 quarter-finals was powered by attacking intent, belief, and four goals against Lebanon on Friday. After the final whistle at the Suzhou Taihu Football Sports Centre Pitch 8, goalscorers Pritika Barman, Alva Devi Senjam and Joya reflected on a day that secured India’s first-ever knockout-stage appearance at the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup.
Pritika Barman, who opened and closed the scoring in the 4-0 victory, revealed that she had visualised scoring the night before stepping onto the pitch.
“It feels really good. I scored two goals, and we played really well. We had to win this match, so everyone gave their absolute best. Because we gave our best, we played very well and scored goals,” said the 16-year-old, who hails from West Bengal.
India knew before kick-off that only a victory would keep their hopes alive of progressing as one of the two best third-placed teams. The Young Tigresses responded with a supreme attacking performance, scoring their first goals at the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup since 2005.
Pritika opened the scoring inside seven minutes with a brilliant individual effort before adding India’s fourth goal late in the second half.
“We have team meetings every night, and last night I had already made up my mind that I was going to score the first goal,” she said. “And I did score the first goal. It felt really good. After that, I thought to myself that I should score even more goals, and that is how I scored again,” Pritika added.
Alva Devi Senjam, who doubled India’s lead before half-time, spoke about the belief within the squad and the trust shown in her by head coach Pamela Conti.
“I felt very excited today because the coaches were shouting encouragement from outside the pitch throughout the game,” said Alva. “I didn’t start very well in the first half an hour, had some mistouches, but still believed that I would score at least one goal today, and that belief helped me find the net.”
The 15-year-old winger’s rise over the last few months has been rapid. Earlier this year, the SAFF U19 Women’s Championship in Nepal was her first international tournament for India. Since then, she has become a regular starter under Conti and featured in every starting eleven named by the Italian coach.
“It feels special because the coach trusts me a lot,” Alva had said earlier in the tournament, and against Lebanon, she repaid that faith with a composed finish after driving into the box from Redima Devi Chingkhamayum’s pass.
“When Redima passed me the ball, my first thought was to pass it to Julan (Nongmaithem), but then I changed my mind and decided to dribble and go for the goal myself. The team’s plan today was to keep taking shots and keep trying for goals. I believed that if I kept trying, at least one will come, and that’s exactly what happened,” Alva explained.
India’s dominant display and eventual qualification sparked emotional scenes at full-time as the players gathered near the centre circle and hugged each other and the coaching staff.
“The mood of the whole team is very good right now because we won by a big margin,” she said. “Seeing the coach made me emotional at the end of the game as well. We are very happy, and we will work even harder in the quarter-final against China. We deserve to be here.
“I want to dedicate the goal to the head coach,” said Alva.
Substitute forward Joya added another memorable moment to the evening with a stunning solo goal in the 72nd minute, weaving past defenders before squeezing home India’s third.
“It felt really good to come on as a substitute and make an impact straight away by scoring a goal. The team supported me a lot and kept telling me that I could do it. My only thought was that whenever I got the chance, I had to score a goal,” said Joya, who comes from Punjab.
“The coach just told me to play with the right mindset and score for the team. We just had to win the match.”
The goal was the second of 15-year-old Joya’s India U17 career. Earlier this year in Myanmar, before she scored her first international goal, her mother had asked her to score for her. Against Lebanon, the story repeated itself.
“At that moment, there wasn’t really a plan for a cut-back,” she said while describing the goal. “I scanned for support, but nobody was there, so I just thought, ‘Let me try, maybe it will go in.’”
Joya again dedicated the goal to her mother and family, who have constantly encouraged her through difficult moments.
“I dedicate this goal to my mother. My whole family supports me — my sister, my father, everyone,” she said. “My mother especially keeps motivating me. I’d say I wasn’t at my best lately, and she told me not to be nervous.
“My mom said, ‘You have reached here because of your hard work, so now prove yourself. Don’t think others are better than you. Think that you are better and that you can do something. Your competition is yourself.’”
Those words stayed with Joya throughout the day.
“After hearing those words from my mother, I felt proud,” Joya said. “She kept reminding me that I had reached this stage for a reason and that I had to do something special.
“So while sitting outside before coming on, I kept thinking, ‘Just give me one chance today.’ I was so excited. During warm-up also, I kept thinking only one thing. I have to score today.
“It really happened exactly like that. I realised that if I go into every match believing that I can score, then I really can do it. If I keep thinking that I want to become better and do better, then I will score goals. Now, we find ourselves within a win of the World Cup, and we are going to give it our all.”
