The 2027 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification was an international men's under-20 football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The tournament was held from 31 August to 6 September 2026 to determine the participating teams for the 2027 AFC U-20 Asian Cup.

Format In January 2026, the AFC introduced a new two-phase format for the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers, featuring a qualification phase and a development phase with promotion and relegation. Teams were allocated into each phase based on a ranking derived from the results of the three most recent editions of the tournament (2018, 2023 and 2025). In each phase, teams are drawn into groups to play a single round-robin format at centralised venues: Qualification phase: Thirty-two teams are divided into eight groups of four. The winners of each group, and the seven best runners-up, qualify for the final tournament. The six lowest ranked fourth-placed teams across all groups are relegated to the development phase for the subsequent edition of the qualifiers. Development phase: Twelve teams are divided into three groups of four. The top two teams in each group are promoted to the qualification phase for the subsequent edition of the qualifiers.

Draw The draw took place on 28 May 2026 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Teams are seeded based on the results of the three most recent editions of the tournament (2018, 2023 and 2025). The teams hosting the qualification groups are also allocated to an additional "Hosts Pot", to ensure they are drawn into different groups. Final tournament hosts China will not participate in the qualifiers. +Qualification phasePot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4

+Development phasePot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4

+Did not enter Notes (H): Qualification group hosts (W): Withdrew after the draw Teams in Bold qualified for the final tourament

Schedule Round Date Matchday 1 31 August 2026 Matchday 2 3 September 2026 Matchday 3 6 September 2026

Qualification phase

Tie-breaking criteriaTeams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group; Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points); Drawing of lots.

Group A All matches were held in Kyrgyzstan. Times listed are UTC+6.

Group B All matches were held in Uzbekistan. Times listed are UTC+5.

Group C All matches will be held in Vietnam. Times listed are UTC+7.

Group D All matches were held in Bahrain. Times listed are UTC+3.

Group E All matches were held in Qatar. Times listed are UTC+3.

Group F All matches were held in Thailand. Times listed are UTC+7.

Group G All matches were held in Cambodia. Times listed are UTC+7.

Group H All matches were held in Laos. Times listed are UTC+7.

Ranking of second-placed teams Group A contained only three teams, as opposed to four teams in all other groups, after the Philippines' withdrawal. Therefore, the results against the fourth-placed team were not counted when determining the ranking of the runner-up teams.

Ranking of fourth-placed teams

Development phase Group I All matches were held in Mongolia. Times listed are UTC+8.

Group J

All matches were held in Bhutan. Times listed are UTC+6.

Group K All matches were held in Myanmar. Times listed are UTC+6:30.

Summary Qualified teams A total of 16 teams, including the hosts, will qualify for the final tournament.

Team Qualified asAppearance Previous best performance (1985) (Twelve times) (2023) (1976, 2006, 2010) (2016, 2018) (1986, 1992, 2018) (Five times) (2016) (1961) (1973) (2000, 2014, 2023) (Four times) (2006) (1962, 1969) (1974) (1959, 1960, 1968)

Promotion A total of six teams from the development phase will be promoted to the 2029 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification phase.

Team Qualified asAppearance Previous best performance 1st Debut 1st Debut 1st Debut 1st Debut 1st Debut 1st Debut

Relegation The six lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams from the qualification phase will be relegated to the 2029 AFC U-20 Asian Cup development phase.

Team Qualified asAppearance Previous best performance Lowest fourth-place 1st Debut Second-lowest Fourth-place 1st Debut Third-lowest Fourth-place 1st Debut Fourth-lowest Fourth-place 1st Debut Fifth-lowest Fourth-place 1st Debut Sixth-lowest Fourth-place 1st Debut

Goalscorers Qualification phase

Development phase

See also 2027 AFC U-20 Asian Cup FIFA U-20 World Cup Notes

References