The Indian women’s football team will play two FIFA international friendlies against the Maldives Women’s football team, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Saturday.

The two matches are scheduled to take place on December 30 and January 2 respectively, at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru. The kickoff time is set at 3:30 PM, IST.

India, ranked 69, will be the favorite going into the matches against the 163rd-ranked Maldives.

The Indian women’s team last played an international match in the 2024 SAFF Women’s Championships, where they lost to Nepal in the semifinals.

The match ended in stalemate, and in the penalty shootout that followed, India lost 2-4 to Nepal, with Ashalatha Devi and Ranjana Chanu missing their respective spot kicks.

The Indian team played ten matches in 2024 but managed to win just three, losing four and drawing three matches. They lost to Uzbekistan and Myanmar.

The team did reach the final of the Turkish Women’s Cup 2024 back in February, but lost the finals to Kosovo, a lower-ranked team.

This has caused a drop in their rankings from 68 to 69, and the Blue Tigresses would want to finish 2024 and kickstart 2025 on a high note, by winning the two friendlies against Maldives.