Blue Tigresses face unbeaten Myanmar with an eye on the Hero Gold Cup final
The Indian women's national football team face off against a strong Myanmar side on Wednesday in their bid to reach the final of the inaugural four-nation Hero Gold Cup.


The Indian women's national football team face off against a strong Myanmar side on Wednesday in their bid to reach the final of the inaugural four-nation Hero Gold Cup. The tie will be a must-win for the Blue Tigresses' who have had a mixed run in the tournament so far.
India beat Iran in their opening match of the tournament by a solitary goal courtesy Anju Tamang's second-half strike. However, in the following match against Nepal, the Blue Tigresses found themselves trailing by two goals at half-time. The team put up a valiant showing in the second 45 minutes in order to get back into the match. Ratanbala Devi pulled a goal back for the women in Blue, but the Tigresses couldn't find a second goal to level up the match.
As things stand currently, Myanmar are the top team with six points from two matches, while India and Nepal are tied with three points each. Iran are yet to open their account, having lost both their fixtures so far. With the top two teams slated to face off in the final on February 15, the third round of fixtures will determine which two sides get the opportunity to battle it out for silverware.
According to the AIFF website, 'The tournament regulations state that in case teams are level on points, the goal difference will be considered to determine the rankings. In a situation that the goal difference is also the same, goals scored will be the deciding factor. If all of the above stays the same, the head-to-head record in the group stage between the two teams will come into play.'
Currently, India have a goal difference of 0, while Nepal's is -2. With Nepal and Iran facing off in the other match, India will be eager to secure all three points against Myanmar on Wednesday in order to maximize their chances of making it to the grand finale on Friday. The feat, however, will be easier said than done against a Myanmar side who have firmly established themselves as title favourites, winning both their matches.
India head coach Maymol Rocky admitted the difficulty of the task at hand and, in an interview with the official AIFF website, said, "Myanmar are the strongest team in the tournament. They have a good set of players in every position and are ranked much higher than us as well."
However, Rocky was adamant that the current crop of Indian players have enough character to rise to the occasion and do the needful. "One loss does not mean you are a bad team. We are still on track and can definitely do better. There is still one match to go. We will go all out to secure a positive result. We are a young side and I am sure the girls are strong-minded and will bounce back. We will prepare hard for the coming match and play our hearts out against Myanmar," she said.