India, March 4 -- The lack of international game time could haunt India when they face higher-ranked Vietnam in their opening group match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup football tournament here on Wednesday.

Ranked lowest in the group of four teams, the others being Japan and Chinese Taipei, India has not played a single international match this year. The last time they played an international match was in October 2025, against Iran and Nepal, which they lost 0-2 and 1-2, respectively.

Instead of playing international matches, India opted to play against club sides during a four-week camp in Turkiye, from where the Blue Tigresses arrived in Perth on February 11.

Since then, the Indian team played friendly matches against two Australian c...