Turkmenistan’s U20 national football team made a winning start to their campaign in the qualifying tournament for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup. In their opening Group F match, with the games being played in the Thai city of Chonburi, the Turkmen players defeated Iraq 2–1. The Asian Football Confederation’s official website described Turkmenistan’s success as a sensational result.
The score was opened in the 15th minute through the successful conversion of a penalty. A handball by Iraqi defender Karrar Al-Saeedi inside his own penalty area gave Yakupmuhammet Gowshudov the opportunity to beat goalkeeper Ammar Al-Hlaichi from the spot. In the second half, Iraq managed to restore parity. In the 59th minute, following a long throw-in by Sajjad Hussein Jasim Al-Saeed, Moamel Malik Sabah Alshawi struck a powerful and accurate shot into the near corner of the goal.
However, the Turkmen players showed character and quickly regained the lead. In the 77th minute, following another dangerous effort by Yakupmuhammet Gowshudov, the Iraqi goalkeeper could only parry the ball back into play, and Veysgeldi Orazdurdyyev was first to react to the rebound, sending the winning goal into the net.
It should be recalled that Turkmenistan’s U20 national team is competing in the tournament under the guidance of 45-year-old head coach Didar Hajyyev, a former player of the national team who also coaches the reserve side of «Arkadag-2.»
In the other Group F match, tournament hosts Thailand defeated the United Arab Emirates 1–0, thanks to a goal by Siwakorn Ponsan in first-half stoppage time. Turkmenistan’s U20 team will play their next match against Thailand on September 3, followed by a match against the UAE on September 6.
The race for places in the final stage of the Asian Cup promises to be intense. A total of 31 national teams are taking part in the qualifying round, divided into eight groups.
The opening round of the qualifying campaign was also packed with action in the other groups, as evidenced by the following results:
Group A (matches involving the three teams are being played in Bishkek): Lebanon – Republic of Korea – 2:3. Kyrgyzstan had a bye in the first round.
Group B (matches are being played in Tashkent): Syria – India – 0:1, Uzbekistan – Bangladesh – 2:0.
Group C (matches are being played in Vietnam): Iran – Palestine – 2:1, Vietnam – DPR Korea – 0:3.
Group D (matches are being played in Bahrain): Jordan – Afghanistan – 1:0, Tajikistan – Bahrain – 2:3.
Group E (matches are being played in Qatar): Qatar – Oman – 1:2, Saudi Arabia – Hong Kong – 2:0.
Group G (matches are being played in Cambodia): Japan – Kuwait – 4:0, Yemen – Cambodia – 1:2.
Group H (matches are being played in Laos): Indonesia – Malaysia – 0:0, Australia – Laos – 2:0.
A total of 15 places in the final tournament are at stake: the eight group winners and the seven best second-placed teams will advance to the finals alongside tournament hosts China for the 43rd edition of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™. The final stage of the AFC U20 Asian Cup will be held in Hangzhou, China, from March 24 to April 10, 2027. At the same time, the six lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in the qualifying competition will be relegated to the development stage of the next qualifying tournament.
Matches have also begun in the development stage, where 11 teams are divided into three groups. The teams finishing first and second in each group will be promoted to the main qualifying stage of the next qualification cycle. The opening round produced the following results:
Group I (matches are being played in Mongolia): Northern Mariana Islands – Mongolia – 0:7. Guam had a bye in the first round.
Group J (matches are being played in Bhutan): Chinese Taipei – Macau – 5:0, Singapore – Bhutan – 3:1.
Group K (matches are being played in Myanmar): Myanmar – Sri Lanka – 4:0, Maldives – Brunei Darussalam– 2:0.
