The India U20 women’s football team has been drawn into Group D alongside Myanmar, Indonesia, and Turkmenistan for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand 2026 Qualifiers. The draw was conducted on Monday at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Group D matches will be hosted by Myanmar in a centralised single round-robin format from August 6 to 10.
Meanwhile, defending champions DPR Korea will battle Nepal, hosts Bhutan, Mongolia, and Saudi Arabia in Group A. Group B features hosts Vietnam, Kyrgyz Republic, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore. Group C sees Australia, Chinese Taipei, Palestine, and hosts Tajikistan vying for qualification. Group E will have hosts and former champions China PR, Lebanon, Cambodia, and Syria. Group F will feature six-time champions Japan, Islamic Republic of Iran, hosts Malaysia, and Guam. Group G will witness hosts Uzbekistan, Jordan, Northern Mariana Islands, and Bahrain compete, while Group H will see former champions Korea Republic face Bangladesh, hosts Laos, and Timor-Leste.
A total of 33 teams have been divided into eight groups — Group A with five teams and the remaining seven groups with four teams each. The group winners and the three best runners-up will join hosts Thailand to complete the 12-team lineup for the final tournament, scheduled from April 1 to 18, 2026.
Notably, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, and Turkmenistan will be aiming to qualify for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time.
The top four teams from the final tournament will earn direct qualification for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup 2026.
The AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup, previously an eight-team event until 2024, has been expanded to a 12-team competition from the 2026 edition onwards. The seedings for the draw were based on a points system derived from the teams’ final rankings across the previous three editions, with India placed in Pot 2.
The complete draw for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand 2026 Qualifiers is: Group A – DPR Korea, Nepal, Bhutan (hosts), Mongolia, Saudi Arabia; Group B – Vietnam (hosts), Kyrgyz Republic, Hong Kong, China, Singapore; Group C – Australia, Chinese Taipei, Palestine, Tajikistan (hosts); Group D – Myanmar (hosts), India, Indonesia, Turkmenistan; Group E – China PR (hosts), Lebanon, Cambodia, Syria; Group F – Japan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia (hosts), Guam; Group G – Uzbekistan (hosts), Jordan, Northern Mariana Islands, Bahrain; Group H – Korea Republic, Bangladesh, Laos (hosts), and Timor-Leste.
(With inputs from IANS)
