The teams of Iraq, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates competed against the youth national team of Turkmenistan (U-20) in the qualifying tournament of the Asian Cup-2027 football. These are the results of the draw held at the Asian Football Confederation House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The qualifying stage of the tournament will be held from the 25th of August to 6th of September, 2026, using a centralised match system.
The 43rd edition of the AFC U20 Junior Cup will be the first to be held under the new format approved by the Asian Football Confederation as part of its reforms to youth competitions. The new system provides for a two-stage format with a mechanism for promotion and demotion in class.
The qualifying stage will involve 32 teams divided into eight groups of four teams.
Turkmenistan and its opponents formed Group «F», the matches of which will be played in a single round in Thailand.
Composition of the remaining groups:
«A»: Republic of Korea (12-time Asian champion), Kyrgyzstan (host), Philippines, Lebanon.
«B»: Uzbekistan (host), Syria, India, Bangladesh.
«C»: Iran, Vietnam (host), DPRK, Palestine.
«D»: Jordan, Tajikistan, Bahrain (host), Afghanistan.
«E»: Saudi Arabia, Qatar (host), Oman, Hong Kong.
«G»: Japan, Yemen, Cambodia (host), Kuwait.
«H»: Australia (current Asian champions), Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos (host).
The group winners and the seven best second-place teams will advance to the final stage of the tournament.
The teams that finish in the last places will be transferred to the development Division for the next competition.
The development Division, under the new format, will feature 12 teams divided into the following three groups:
«I»: Mongolia (host), Guam, Nepal, Northern Mariana Islands.
«J»: Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Bhutan (host), Macau.
«K»: Myanmar (host), Maldives, Brunei, Sri Lanka.
The group winners and runners-up will advance to the qualifying stage of the next tournament.
The final part of the AFC U20 Cup will be held from the 24th of March to 10th of April, 2027 in China.
The Turkmenistan U20 national team will be prepared for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying tournament by a coaching staff led by 45-year-old Didar Hajyyev, a well-known former national team player who also coaches the «Arkadag-2» team, which competes in the national youth championship. Dayanch Garajayev and goalkeeping coach Saparmyrat Ovezov assist him in his work with the youth team. Under the guidance of these specialists, the Turkmenistan youth team took fourth place among five teams at the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Championship in Tajikistan last month.
