The national teams of age groups in Asia begin their quest to reach the finals of the AFC U-17 Junior Cup 2025, which is hosted by Saudi Arabia and qualifies for the 2025 World Cup in Qatar, and the AFC U-20 Youth Cup, which is hosted by China 2025, and the qualifiers for both tournaments begin in October and September, respectively.
The qualification path will be determined through the official draw ceremony scheduled to be held next Thursday at the AFC headquarters. Will Qatar host its group qualifiers, whether for the AFC U-17 Cup or the AFC U-20 Cup?
The qualifiers for the twentieth edition of the U-17 Asian Cup will be held during the period from October 19 to 27, with the participation of 43 teams that will be divided into 10 groups (seven groups of four teams and three groups of five teams).
As for the 2025 AFC U-20 Youth Cup qualifiers, they will be held between September 21 and 29, with the participation of 45 teams, also divided into 10 groups (five of which include four teams and five groups consisting of five teams).
All winners of the ten groups, in addition to the five best second-placed teams, will qualify for the finals of the two tournaments, and will be joined by the hosts who qualify automatically. Saudi Arabia will host the 2025 AFC U-17 Youth Cup, while the 42nd edition of the AFC Youth Under-17 Cup will be held. 20 years in China, with the final decisions of the two host countries being approved by the Federation’s Executive Office.
The competitions for each group of the two tournament qualifiers will be held in a single-round pool system, where the teams will be distributed into five pots based on their final classification in the previous edition. At the beginning of the draw, the teams that will host the qualifying matches will be distributed among the host pots to ensure that they are drawn into different groups.
Classification of junior national teams
The distribution of pots for each draw, with the teams arranged according to classification, will be as follows:
Asian Cup U-17 qualifiers 2025
– First level: Japan (1), Republic of Korea (2), Uzbekistan (3), Iran (4), Yemen (5), Australia (6), Malaysia (9), Afghanistan (10) Tajikistan (11).
– Second level: India (12), Indonesia (17), Bangladesh (18), Oman (19), Iraq (21).
– Third level: Syria (22), UAE (23), Kyrgyzstan (25), Mongolia (28), Brunei Darussalam (30), Bahrain (31).
– Fourth level: Turkmenistan (32), Palestine (33), Nepal (34), Myanmar (35), Bhutan (36), Hong Kong, China (37), Northern Mariana Islands (38), Lebanon (39), Guam ( 40), Philippines (41).
– Level 5: Maldives (42), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (not rated), Macau (not rated).
– Host country pot: Thailand (8; first level), China (13; second level), Vietnam (14; second level), Qatar (15; second level), Laos (16; second level), Jordan (20; second level). II), Kuwait (24; Level III), China Taipei (26; Level III), Singapore (27; Level III), Cambodia (29; Level III).
Classification of youth teams
– First level: Uzbekistan (1), Iraq (2), Japan (3), Republic of Korea (4), Australia (5), Iran (7), Jordan (8).
The second level: Syria (13), Oman (15), Lebanon (18), Yemen (19), Mongolia (20), Bahrain (21).
– Third level: Malaysia (23), Bangladesh (24), Palestine (25), UAE (26), Philippines (27), India (28), Myanmar (29), East Timor (30), Singapore (31).
– Fourth level: Afghanistan (32), Cambodia (33), Turkmenistan (35), Bhutan (37), Hong Kong, China (38), Sri Lanka (39), Brunei Darussalam (40), Maldives (41).
– Level 5: Nepal (42), Guam (43), Northern Mariana Islands (44), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (not rated), Macau (not rated).
– Host nation pot: Vietnam (9; first level), Indonesia (10-11; first level), Tajikistan (10-11; first level), Saudi Arabia (12; second level), Kyrgyzstan (14; second level), Qatar (16; Level 2), Thailand (17; Level 2), China Taipei (22; Level 3), Kuwait (34; Level 4), Laos (36; Level 4).