The AFC General Secretariat on Thursday drew the draw for the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers for the continental finals scheduled in China in 2027, amid widespread anticipation from the Asian football community for the 43rd edition, which will witness the implementation of an unprecedented competitive reform package.
The path of the "Qasioun Eagles" in the qualifiers
The Asian draw resulted in the Syrian youth team falling into Group B alongside Uzbekistan (the host country of the group matches), India, and Bangladesh.
This path represents a real challenge for the young people of the "Tough Eagles" who are looking to write a new success story in the yellow continent, coinciding with the decision of the group's television broadcasting rights in favor of the Uzbek channel "Sport Uz".
The Revolution of the New Asian Order
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has approved a radical new reform system for age group competitions aimed at ensuring more competitive matches through the adoption of an "up and down" mechanism.
The current qualifying phase included the distribution of 32 teams into 8 groups (each group includes 4 teams), where the champions of the eight groups will qualify directly alongside the top 7 teams in second place, with 15 teams with host China qualifying for the finals scheduled between March 24 and April 10, 2027, while the last place finisher in each group will be officially relegated to the "development phase" in the next edition.
Details of the eight groups for the qualifiers
The results of the draw of the 32 teams on the groups were as follows:
Group A: South Korea , Kyrgyzstan (host), Philippines, Lebanon.
Group B: Uzbekistan (host), Syria, India, Bangladesh.
Group C: Iran, Vietnam (host), North Korea, Palestine.
Group D: Jordan, Tajikistan, Bahrain (host), Afghanistan.
Group F: Saudi Arabia, Qatar (host), Oman, Hong Kong.
Group F: Iraq, Thailand (host), UAE, Turkmenistan.
Group G: Japan, Yemen, Cambodia (host), Kuwait.
Group H: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos (hosts).
Compressed calendar and advance preparations
The AFC Competitions Committee has scheduled the matches of the group stage to be held from August 25 to September 6, 2026.
This Asian qualification will be the most important stop for the Syrian youth team, which will compete in the West Asian Youth Championship 2026 in the fiery second group that brings it together with Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, in an ideal regional rehearsal to prepare the final list for the Asian qualifiers.