Football

Vietnamese players seen in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 in May. They will play easy rivals in the 2027 edition's qualifiers in October. — Photo the-afc.com

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam placed in an easy Group D of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup's Qualifiers after a draw conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 16.

The 30 teams – two more than the previous record of 28 from the 2019 edition – were divided into eight groups – six of four and two of three – to contest a single round-robin centralised league from October 5 to 11.

Việt Nam earned the right to host the matches, welcoming Kyrgyz Republic, Northern Mariana Islands and Palestine, who were not highly appreciated in this tournament due to their much lower level than Việt Nam in the world ranking.

Group A hosts Tajikistan will face 2009 champions South Korea, Jordan and United Arab Emirates while Indonesia will have to contend with the challenge of hosts Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in Group B.

Standing in top seeds Chinese Taipei way in Group C will be Iran, Cambodia and hosts Laos while India headline Group E, with hosts Malaysia, Syria and Iraq their challengers.

Thailand will welcome Lebanon, Macau and Bhutan in Group F; Group G will see Myanmar as hosts who will vie for the sole ticket available against Hong Kong-China and Guam; while Group H will be contested by the Philippines, Bangladesh and hosts Uzbekistan.

Each group winner will advance to the Finals, joining the quartet of teams that have qualified directly as the top four finishers from the 2026 campaign – defending champions North Korea, runners-up Japan, and semi-finalists Australia and China.

A draw will be held in December to determine the Group Stage of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2027, which is slated to run from March 31 to April 17, 2027. 

The top four finishers at the tournament will represent Asia at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2027. — VNS