New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Hosts India have been drawn with Islamic Republic of Iran, Palestine, Chinese Taipei and Lebanon in Group D of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers, following the draw conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.
Ahmedabad’s The Arena will host Group D of the Qualifiers from November 22 to 30, 2025.
India will begin the Qualifiers with a clash against Palestine on November 22 before taking on Chinese Taipei on November 26, Lebanon on November 28 and Islamic Republic of Iran on November 30.
The draw saw 38 teams divided into seven groups – three of six teams each and four of five. They will contest the Qualifiers in a single round-robin centralised league format, with the seven group winners progressing to the 21st edition of the Finals, where they will join the nine AFC representatives from the FIFA U17 World Cup 2025 who have automatically qualified – Qatar, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic, DPR Korea, Japan, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.
For the Qualifiers draw, the 38 teams were seeded into six pots based on a points system derived from their final rankings across the previous three editions of the Finals. India were seeded in Pot 2, and placed in a separate Hosts Pot before the draw to ensure they were not drawn in the same group as other hosts.
The AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 will take place from May 7 to 24, 2026 and the top eight finishers will qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup Qatar 2026.
After missing out on qualifying for the 2025 tournament, India will aim to bounce back and appear in the AFC U17 Asian Cup for the 10th time in history.
AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 draw:
Group A: China PR (H), Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Timor-Leste, Sri Lanka
Group B: Yemen, Laos, Kyrgyz Republic (H), Cambodia, Guam, Pakistan
Group C: Vietnam (H), Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Northern Mariana Islands, Macau
Group D: Islamic Republic of Iran, India (H), Palestine, Chinese Taipei, Lebanon
Group E: Australia, Iraq, Philippines, Jordan (H), Bhutan
Group F: Thailand (H), Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Maldives
Group G: Oman, Afghanistan, Myanmar (H), Syria, Nepal
India’s schedule:
November 22: Palestine vs India
November 26: India vs Chinese Taipei
November 28: India vs Lebanon
November 30: IR Iran vs India
Venue: The Arena, Ahmedabad
–IANS
hs/ab
