AFC U-19 Championship: Rising stars set for 2020 Qualifiers

AFC – KUALA LUMPUR, The draw for the AFC U-19 Championship 2020 Qualifiers concluded at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday with the 46 teams discovering their opponents.

The teams were divided into two zones of WEST (West + South + Central) with 25 teams and EAST (East +ASEAN) with 21 teams.

WEST

Group A will see five-time champions Iraq face Pakistan, Kuwait, Palestine and Oman, while 2014 winners and 2018 semi-finalists Qatar have Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Yemen for company in Group B.

Quarter-finalists in 2018, Turkmenistan will make their presence felt in Group C alongside Maldives, Lebanon and 1994 champions Syria.

Four-time champions Islamic Republic of Iran missed the last edition in Indonesia and will be hoping to make amends in Group D when they host Nepal, Kyrygz Republic and United Arab Emirates, who were the champions in 2008.

Group E pits 2016 quarter-finalists Bahrain against Bhutan, Bangladesh and Jordan, while defending champions Saudi Arabia will entertain Afghanistan, India and Uzbekistan in Group F.

Top spot in the respective groups will earn direct qualification, while the four best second-placed teams will also advance to the 2020 Finals.

Should the yet to be determined host for the Finals finish either top of their group or among the best four second-placed teams, the next (5th) second-placed team in the ranking among all groups will qualify instead.

The Qualifiers will be played on November 2-10, 2019.