Post by : Bianca
Haleem
Photo: X/@IndianFootball
The Indian Under-23 (U23) men’s football team has been placed in Group H for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers. The group includes host nation Qatar, Bahrain, and Brunei Darussalam. The draw for the qualifiers was held on Thursday at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
All the matches of Group H will be played in Qatar between September 1st and 9th, 2025.
A total of 44 teams are taking part in the qualifiers. These teams have been divided into 11 groups with 4 teams in each group. After the group matches, the winner of each group and the four best second-place teams will qualify for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026, which will take place in Saudi Arabia in January 2026.
For the draw, teams were placed into four different pots based on their performance in the last three tournaments. India was placed in Pot 3, which means their recent record was considered average compared to some other teams.
India’s U23 team will be led by head coach Naushad Moosa. He will start training the team from June 1st at a camp in Kolkata. After the training camp, the team will travel to Tajikistan to play two friendly matches—one against the host Tajikistan on June 18th and another against the Kyrgyz Republic on June 21st.
Here is the full list of groups for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers:
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Group A: Jordan (Host), Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, Bhutan
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Group B: Japan, Kuwait, Myanmar (Host), Afghanistan
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Group C: Vietnam (Host), Yemen, Singapore, Bangladesh
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Group D: Australia, China (Host), Timor-Leste, Northern Mariana Islands
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Group E: Uzbekistan, Palestine, Kyrgyz Republic (Host), Sri Lanka
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Group F: Thailand (Host), Malaysia, Lebanon, Mongolia
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Group G: Iraq, Cambodia (Host), Oman, Pakistan
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Group H: Qatar (Host), Bahrain, India, Brunei Darussalam
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Group I: United Arab Emirates (Host), Iran, Hong Kong China, Guam
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Group J: Korea Republic, Indonesia (Host), Laos, Macau
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Group K: Tajikistan, Syria, Philippines, Nepal
This is an exciting opportunity for young Indian players to show their talent and try to qualify for the big tournament in Saudi Arabia.
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