New Delhi [India], November 10 : India are placed alongside Japan, Australia and Chinese Taipei in Group C of the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Thailand 2026 in the final draw held in Bangkok, on Monday.
Having qualified for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup after 20 years, the Young Tigresses will begin their campaign against Japan, followed by Australia and Chinese Taipei, as per the AIFF website.
Japan, runners-up in 2024, is a record six-time champion of the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup and also a FIFA U20 Women's World Cup champion in 2018, as well as a runner-up in 2024. Australia finished the 2024 edition in third place, while Chinese Taipei were knocked out in the group stage.
In Group A, hosts Thailand were drawn alongside China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Group B contains South Korea, DPR Korea, Uzbekistan and Jordan.
The AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Thailand 2026 will be hosted at three venues: Rajamangala National Stadium (Bangkok), Thammasat Stadium (Pathum Thani), and Pathum Thani Stadium (Pathum Thani), a release said.
For the pot allocations for the final draw, the seedings were based on a points system derived from the teams' final rankings across the previous three editions of the finals, with the points from each edition weighted progressively as follows: 100% of ranking points for the latest edition (2024), 50% of ranking points for the second-last edition (2019) and 25% of ranking points for the third-last edition (2017).
India, which did not qualify for any of the last three editions, was placed in Pot 4 ahead of the draw.
The top two sides from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will progress to the quarter-finals. The four semi-finalists will qualify for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026, where DPR Korea are the current holder.
AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup Thailand 2026 Final draw results
Group A: Thailand, China PR, Vietnam, Bangladesh
Group B: DPR Korea, Korea Republic, Uzbekistan, Jordan
Group C: Japan, Australia, Chinese Taipei, India.