The cast for the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 was decided following the conclusion of the Qualifiers with the seven group winners joining Asia’s representatives from the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025.
DPR Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan had qualified via the World Cup performances at the Finals to be contested from May 7-24, 2026.
Joining them from the qualifiers are China, Yemen, Vietnam, India, Australia, Myanmar and Thailand.
At the qualifiers China PR took the Group A top spot with an emphatic 4-0 win against Bangladesh on Sunday, with the East Asian side winning all five matches.
Yemen were equally perfect in Group B, sealing their place in the Finals with a come-from-behind 4-2 win against Laos.
Vietnam were at their best against Malaysia, defeating their Southeast Asian rivals 4-0 to top Group C with five wins.
India came from behind to stun Islamic Republic of Iran 2-1, with the victory catapulting the South Asian side to the top of the standings on the head-to-head ratio after both finished with seven points.
Australia had to stave off a spirited fightback from Iraq to secure the Group E top spot, the 3-3 stalemate seeing them finish on 10 points – two ahead of the West Asian side.
Thailand emerged first in a tight Group F, advancing ahead of Turkmenistan and Kuwait after all three finished on nine points.
Myanmar sealed a return to the Finals for the first time since 2006 after a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Syria, which earned them the 10th point of their campaign and their ticket to the Finals.
The draw for the Finals is scheduled to be held on February 12, 2026.
