The Indian Under-17 women’s football team has been drawn alongside Malaysia, Syria and Iraq in Group E of the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, to be held in Amman, Jordan, from October 5 to 11.

The draw was conducted at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

India will begin its campaign against Iraq before taking on Syria and Malaysia in its remaining group-stage matches.

The winner of Group E will qualify for the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup, to be held in Suzhou, China, from March 31 to April 17, 2027.

India will be aiming to qualify for back-to-back editions of the continental tournament after making a historic first-ever knockout-stage appearance in the previous edition.

The qualifiers will be played in a centralised single round-robin format, with the winners of the eight groups advancing to the finals.

They will join the top four teams from the 2026 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup, who have already secured direct qualification. Defending champion North Korea, runner-up Japan, and semifinalists Australia and host China are the direct entrants.

The four semifinalists of the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco later in 2027.

AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers Draw Result

Group A: Korea Republic, Jordan, Tajikistan (H), United Arab Emirates

Group B: Indonesia, Singapore (H), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain

Group C: Chinese Taipei, Islamic Republic of Iran, Laos (H), Cambodia

Group D: Vietnam (H), Kyrgyz Republic, Northern Mariana Islands, Palestine

Group E: India, Malaysia (H), Syria, Iraq

Group F: Thailand (H), Lebanon, Macau, Bhutan

Group G: Myanmar (H), Hong Kong, Guam

Group H: Philippines, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan (H)

India’s schedule:

Matchday 1: India vs Iraq

Matchday 2: Syria vs India

Matchday 3: India vs Malaysia

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Published on Jul 16, 2026