TEHRAN - The AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers are set to be a scintillating affair following the Official Draw at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday.

To be staged between Aug. 25 and Sept. 6, 2026 in a centralized league system, these Qualifiers will feature the implementation of a new format as part of key reforms to the AFC’s youth competitions that were ratified earlier this year.

Designed to ensure more meaningful matches and opportunities for teams to compete against opponents of similar technical competency, a two-phase system featuring a promotion and relegation mechanism has been introduced.

In the Qualification Phase, 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, with the group winners and the seven best second-placed teams advancing to the 43rd edition of the AFC U20 Asian Cup. At the same time, the bottom team of each group will be relegated to the Development Phase of the subsequent edition.

For the Development Phase in the upcoming Qualifiers, 12 teams are divided into three groups of four, with the three group winners and the three second-placed teams of each group to be promoted to the Qualification Phase of the next edition.

Draw Result
Qualification Phase
Group A: Korea Republic, Kyrgyzstan (H), Philippines, Lebanon
Group B: Uzbekistan (H), Syria, India, Bangladesh
Group C: Iran, Vietnam (H), DPR Korea, Palestine
Group D: Jordan, Tajikistan, Bahrain (H), Afghanistan
Group E: Saudi Arabia, Qatar (H), Oman, Hong Kong
Group F: Iraq, Thailand (H), UAE, Turkmenistan
Group G: Japan, Yemen, Cambodia (H), Kuwait
Group H: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos (H)
Group winners and seven best second-placed teams advance to Finals.
The bottom team of each group relegated to the Development Phase of next edition.