East Bengal vs Ho Chi Minh City Preview: Predicted Lineups, Team News Women's Champions League 2026-27
Kishore Bharati Krirangan will host the 2026-27 AWCL Group C in Kolkata. East Bengal Women are poised to kick off their 2026-27 AFC Women's Champions League group stages with a tricky task against the dangerous Ho Chi Minh City WFC side at the Kishore Bharati Krinangan (Kolkata) on Sunday, 1 November (2026).
With both sides eager to start their campaign with a win, this should be a high-octane thriller with a lot of drama attached to it and be crucial to setting up which side can take control of the group. The Stakes East Bengal FC East Bengal FC won the 2025-26 Indian Women's League season.
The East Bengal women's side have been able to qualify for the AFC Women's Champions League for the second time running, marking their impressive growth over the last few years. After coming up short in the group stages last time around, they'll be eager to make good of their home advantage to make it into the group stages in the 2026-27 season.
Knowing that they'll be representing Indian women's football in the competition, the Moshal Girls will look to be at their prolific best in the opener against Ho Chi Minh City. Anthony Andrews' players need to maintain a really solid defensive shape to be able to frustrate the Vietnamese heavyweights.
Their primary approach, however, will be to trouble them on the attack and they'll need to be particularly innovative and efficient in the final third to be able to get anything from this game. A win for East Bengal to kick off their 2026-27 AFC Women's Champions League would be perfect and set up the rest of the group stages nicely, but a gutting defeat can make things much trickier.
Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City WFC reached the AWCL Quarter-Finals in the 2025-26 edition. The Ho Chi Minh City Women's team are the most decorated women's football club from Vietnam, and they have dominated their domestic football scene for many decades now.
However, the Vietnamese heavyweights are yet to go all the way into achieving glory in the AFC Women's Champions League and they'll be eager to end that barren run this time around. To do so, of course, they'll need to dominate the group stages and will be keen on outplaying East Bengal women at their own yard.
For Ho Chi Minh City players, the priority will be to play some entertaining attacking football and be at their unpredictable best in the final third, even though they will respect the hosts by keeping a compact defensive shape. A dominant win will be a perfect confidence-booster for the Ho Chi Minh City players, but dropping points in the first game could be particularly frustrating.
Team News East Bengal Women should have a fully-fit squad available at their disposal for the start of the 2026-27 AFC Women's Champion League. Ho Chi Minh City Women are also likely to bring their strongest squad to India for the group stages of the continental competition.