U17 WACQ: Malaysia Miss Out on 2027 Finals After 4-0 Defeat to India
Young Tigresses Win the Decider on a Wet Pitch at Selayang as Anushka Kumari Scores Again; Malayan Tigress Praised for Fighting to the Final Whistle
Malaysia’s U17 women’s team missed the chance to qualify for the 2027 AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup when they lost 4-0 to India in the final Group E match at MPS Stadium, Selayang.
Both teams knew that only a win would do. Only the group winners qualify for the finals, so the match was a straight decider. India, who had beaten Syria and Iraq, completed a perfect group, while Malaysia finished on six points behind India’s nine.
India and Malaysia each had two wins from two games coming in. The Malayan Tigress also had a large home crowd behind them at Selayang. The prize was a place at the finals: only group winners qualify, and the finals take place in Suzhou, China, from March 31 to April 17, 2027, with the semi-finalists there going through to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
India had also set a high bar in the group. They beat Iraq 14-0 in their opening match, and then beat Syria 2-0, with Anushka Kumari scoring five against Iraq and twice more against Syria. The Young Tigresses were also chasing a second straight qualification after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2026 tournament, their first knockout appearance.
India put Malaysia under pressure from the start of the first half. Goalkeeper Putri Aina Husna Mohd Subri had to work hard to protect her goal.
Rain a few hours before kick-off had left the pitch in poor condition, which made it harder for both teams to play well.
India had to wait until the 28th minute to score. Redima Chingkhamayum opened the scoring and the score stayed 1-0 at half-time.
India kept up the pressure after the break. In the 50th minute their top scorer Anushka Kumari set up a goal for Pritika Barman, who finished past Putri Aina Husna to make it 2-0. Six minutes later Kumari scored herself for 3-0.
Nidhi Kumar completed India’s win in the 85th minute with their fourth goal.
Malaysia tried to cut the deficit, but the score stayed at 4-0 to the end.
Credit Photo : Simon Yap/SNE-Photo
