AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers: India drawn alongside Turkmenistan, Thailand, and Brunei in Group D
The AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025 Qualifiers draw took place at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, June 13, 2024. The Indian U17 team are placed in Group D. They will face hosts Thailand, Brunei, and Turkmenistan in the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers.
With this tournament, the Indian team will kickstart their journey to make it to the Asian Cup finals that will be held in Saudi Arabia next year.
India hold a fairly successful history as far as the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers are concerned. They finished as table toppers in the 2018 edition in their group, displaying sheer dominance in the region.
Thailand will host the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025 Qualifiers from October 19 to 27, 2024. A total of 43 teams have been divided into groups of 10. There are seven groups of four teams each and three groups of five teams each.
Winners from each group and the five second-best-placed teams will progress to the finals. Saudi Arabia is set to host the tournament from April 3 to 20, 2025. India will aim to qualify for the AFC U17 Asian Cup. It will be for the fourth consecutive time if they manage to do so.
Their previous finals appearance in Thailand in 2023 saw them being eliminated in the group stage. India have made it to the quarter-finals on two occasions at the AFC U17 Asian Cup - in 2002 and 2018, which was also their best display.
India will look to better their performance this time around. However, they are set to face a stiff challenge. Thailand will enjoy a home advantage. Moreover, they have qualified consistently for the tournament in the past few years.
While India did beat Turkmenistan by a convincing 5-0 margin when the teams last met in the previous qualifiers in 2018, it could be a completely different game this time around.
It will be a crucial tournament for India as a strong performance in the qualifiers will help them gain vital experience going forward.
Here's a look at the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers 2025 Draw Result
Group A: IR Iran, Jordan (H), Syria, Hong Kong, China, DPR Korea
Group B: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia (H), Philippines, Macau
Group C: Korea Republic, China PR (H), Bahrain, Bhutan, Maldives
Group D: Thailand (H), India, Brunei Darussalam, Turkmenistan
Group E: Uzbekistan, Iraq, Chinese Taipei (H), Palestine
Group F: Japan, Qatar (H), Mongolia, Nepal
Group G: Australia, Indonesia, Kuwait (H), Northern Mariana Islands
Group H: Malaysia, Laos (H), United Arab Emirates, Lebanon
Group I: Yemen, Vietnam (H), Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar
Group J: Tajikistan, Oman, Singapore (H), Guam