The AFC U20 Women: The India U20 women's team were drawn alongside Myanmar, Indonesia and Turkmenistan in Group D of the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Thailand 2026 Qualifiers, following the draw conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday.
Group A will see defending champions DPR Korea, Nepal, hosts Bhutan, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia battling for qualification while hosts Vietnam, Kyrgyz Republic, Hong Kong, China and Singapore are the teams drawn in Group B.
Australia, Chinese Taipei, Palestine and hosts Tajikistan will face off in Group C. Myanmar will host Group D of the Qualifiers between August 6 to August 10 in a centralised single round-robin format.
Group E will see a showdown between hosts and former champions China PR, Lebanon, Cambodia and Syria with six-time champions Japan, Islamic Republic of Iran, hosts Malaysia and Guam drawn in Group F.
Group G action will feature hosts Uzbekistan, Jordan, Northern Mariana Islands and Bahrain while the race for the sole automatic ticket from Group H will be between former champions Korea Republic, Bangladesh, hosts Laos and Timor-Leste.
A total of 33 teams were divided into eight groups (Group A with five teams and rest of the seven with four each). The group winners and the three best runners-up, alongside hosts Thailand, will complete the cast of 12 teams for the 12th edition of the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup, which will take place from April 1 to 18, 2026.
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor Leste and Turkmenistan will be seeking to make their maiden appearance in the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup.
The top four teams in the final tournament will qualify for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup 2026.
The AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup, an eight-team tournament until 2024, has been expanded to 12 teams 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 of the tournament. India were placed in Pot 2.
AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Thailand 2026 Qualifiers draw result:
Group A: DPR Korea, Nepal, Bhutan (H), Mongolia, Saudi Arabia
Group B: Vietnam (H), Kyrgyz Republic, Hong Kong, China, Singapore,
Group C: Australia, Chinese Taipei, Palestine, Tajikistan (H)
Group D: Myanmar (H), India, Indonesia, Turkmenistan
Group E: China PR (H), Lebanon, Cambodia, Syria
Group F: Japan, IR Iran, Malaysia (H), Guam
Group G: Uzbekistan (H), Jordan, Northern Mariana Islands, Bahrain
Group F: Japan, IR Iran, Malaysia (H), Guam
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Article Source: IANS