The Turkmenistan U20 national football team retains its chances of reaching the 2027 Asian Cup finals following the second round of the qualifying tournament in Group «F», with matches being held in the Thai city with the participation of four teams.
The second day of play was opened by the teams of Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, who had an unsuccessful start in the qualification. In the first round, the Iraqis suffered a shocking 1-2 defeat to their peers from Turkmenistan, while the UAE footballers lost to the hosts, Thailand, with a minimal score of 0-1.
In a head-to-head match between the underdogs, fortune was on the side of the Iraqi team, which managed to achieve a comeback victory – 2:1. The UAE team took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to a precise strike from Yannick Müller on the rebound. However, the Iraqis managed to equalise before the break – in the 45th minute, Moamel Malik Al-Shawy headed in a cross along the goal.
In the 68th minute, Sajjad Hussein Al-Zayedi headed in Iraq to give them a 2-1 lead.
At the very end of the game, the UAE could have avoided defeat, having been awarded a penalty - goalkeeper Al-Khlaich brought down Mubarak Al-Blushi in his penalty area. However, the Iraqi goalkeeper immediately corrected his own mistake: he guessed the direction of penalty kick of Müller, dived to block the ball and preserve the winning result for his team.
Next, the leaders of the quartet – the youth teams of Turkmenistan and Thailand – took to the field. For most of the match, team of Didar Hajyyev successfully held off the attacks of the tournament hosts. The outcome of the match was decided by a single incident in the 57th minute: Siva Pikulhom delivered a powerful volley, against which the goalkeeper of the Turkmenistan national team was powerless.
This second consecutive victory allowed the Thai team to take a three-point lead over their pursuers. Turkmenistan shares second place with Iraq with 3 points, while the UAE is at the bottom of the table with no points. In the final round, the Turkmen team will face the UAE, while Thailand will play Iraq, where the fate of second place, which gives the opportunity to compete for a ticket to the final tournament, will be determined.
A total of 31 teams, divided into eight groups, are participating in the qualifying stage. 15 teams will advance to the final stage, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, from the 24th of March to 10th of April, 2027: the eight group winners, the seven best second-place teams, and the host team, China. The six worst teams finishing in fourth place will be relegated to the «Development Stage» of the next qualifying round.
Results of the 2nd round matches in other groups:
Group «A» (matches involving three teams are held in Bishkek): Kyrgyzstan – Lebanon – 2:3. Team standings: Republic of Korea (after one game), Lebanon (after two games) – 3 points each, Kyrgyzstan (after one game) – 0 points.
Group «B» (matches are taking place in Tashkent): Bangladesh – Syria – 0:3, India – Uzbekistan – 0:4. Team standings: Uzbekistan – 6 points, India, Syria – 3 points each, Bangladesh – 0.
Group «C» (matches are held in Vietnam): North Korea – Iran 2:1, Palestine – Vietnam – 2:1. Team standings: North Korea – 6 points, Iran, Palestine – 3 points each, Vietnam – 0.
Group «D» (matches are taking place in Bahrain): Afghanistan – Tajikistan – 1:4, Bahrain – Jordan – 1:2. Team standings: Jordan – 6 points, Bahrain, Tajikistan – 3 points each, Afghanistan – 0.
Group «E» (matches are taking place in Qatar): Oman – Saudi Arabia – 2:3, Hong Kong – Qatar – 0:3. Team standings: Saudi Arabia – 6 points, Oman, Qatar – 3 points each, Hong Kong – 0.
Group «G» (matches are held in Cambodia): Kuwait – Yemen – 1:3, Cambodia – Japan – 0:8. Team standings: Japan – 6 points, Cambodia, Yemen – 3 points each, Kuwait – 0.
Group «H» (matches are held in Laos): Malaysia – Australia – 2:2, Laos – Indonesia – 0:3. Team standings: Indonesia, Australia – 4 points each, Malaysia – 2 points, Laos – 0.
In parallel, the Development Stage, where 11 teams are competing for promotion to the next cycle, also hosted the second round of matches. Here are their results:
Group «I» (matches are played in Mongolia): Guam – Northern Mariana Islands – 3:0. Team standings: Mongolia and Guam – 3 points each, Northern Mariana Islands – 0.
Group «J» (matches are taking place in Bhutan): Macau – Singapore – 0:1, Bhutan – Chinese Taipei – 1:2. Team standings: Chinese Taipei and Singapore – 6 points each, Bhutan and Macau – 0.
Group «K» (matches are held in Myanmar): Brunei – Myanmar – 0:7, Sri Lanka – Maldives – 0:4. Team standings: Myanmar and Maldives – 6 points each, Brunei, Sri Lanka – 0.
The teams finishing first and second in each of these groups will advance to the main qualifying stage of the next qualifying tournament.
