Road to China Begins! India Discover AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup Qualifying Opponents

India have been drawn alongside hosts Malaysia, Syria and Iraq in Group E of the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers following the draw conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

The Young Tigresses will aim to qualify for consecutive editions of the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup for the first time after reaching the knockout stage for the first time in the previous tournament.

India's group for the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers

Group E:

• India
• Malaysia (hosts)
• Syria
• Iraq

Malaysia will host all Group E matches from October 5 to 11, 2026.

India's schedule

• Matchday 1: India vs Iraq
• Matchday 2: Syria vs India
• Matchday 3: India vs Malaysia

AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup Qualification format explained

A total of 30 teams have been divided into eight groups for the qualifiers, with six groups containing four teams and two groups featuring three teams.

Each group will be played in a single round-robin format at centralized venues between October 5 and 11, 2026.

Only the eight group winners will qualify for the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup China 2027.

The final tournament will be held in Suzhou, China, from March 31 to April 17, 2027.

Road to the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup

The qualified teams will join the four automatic entrants from the 2026 AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup:

• DPR Korea (defending champions)
• Japan (runners-up)
• Australia (semi-finalists)
• China PR (hosts and semi-finalists)

The four semi-finalists at the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup China 2027 will secure qualification for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup Morocco 2027.

AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup 2027 Qualifier groups

• Group A: Korea Republic, Jordan, Tajikistan (hosts), United Arab Emirates
• Group B: Indonesia, Singapore (hosts), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain
• Group C: Chinese Taipei, Iran, Laos (hosts), Cambodia
• Group D: Vietnam (hosts), Kyrgyz Republic, Northern Mariana Islands, Palestine
• Group E: India, Malaysia (hosts), Syria, Iraq
• Group F: Thailand (hosts), Lebanon, Macau, Bhutan
• Group G: Myanmar (hosts), Hong Kong, Guam
• Group H: Philippines, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan (hosts)