Kuala Lumpur, Aug 7 (IANS) India have been drawn with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in Group G of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026 Qualifiers, following the draw conducted at the AFC House here on Thursday.
The draw saw 27 teams divided into eight groups – three of four teams each and five of three. They will contest the qualifiers in a single round-robin centralised league format from October 13 to 17.
India will face Kyrgyzstan on October 13 and Uzbekistan on October 17 in Bishkek.
The eight group winners will progress to the 10th edition of the Finals, where they will be joined by the four AFC representatives from the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup 2025 who have automatically qualified – Noth Korea, Japan, South Korea and China to form a 12-strong line-up – four more than the previous edition.
For the qualifiers draw, the 27 teams were seeded into four pots based on a points system derived from their final rankings across the previous three editions of the Finals. India were seeded in Pot 1.
The AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026 will take place from April 30 to May 17, 2026, and the top four finishers will qualify for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026.
India last participated in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup in 2005. The Young Tigresses will aim to script history by qualifying for the continental stage for the first time via the qualifiers route.
AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026 Qualifiers draw result
Group A: Philippines, Malaysia, Tajikistan (H), Syria
Group B: Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia (H)
Group C: Indonesia, Myanmar (H), Mongolia, Macau
Group D: Vietnam (H), Hong Kong, China, Guam
Group E: Australia, Singapore (H), Northern Mariana Islands
Group F: Thailand (H), Nepal, Turkmenistan
Group G: India, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic (H)
Group H: Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Jordan (H)
India’s schedule:
October 13: Kyrgyzstan vs India
October 17: India vs Uzbekistan
–IANS
bc/
