Iran in Pot 2 of U-20 WAC Qualifiers
The participating teams, divided into eight groups seven groups of four teams and one group of five will battle in a Group Stage format across eight centralised venues in Bhutan, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The group winners will be joined by the three best runners-up, alongside the host, to complete the cast of 12 teams for the 12th edition of the AFC Womens U-20 Asian Cup, which will take place from April 1 to 18, 2026.
The Qualifiers will see two-time champion DPR Korea return to defend its crown while three other former champions, China, Japan and Korea Republic will also vie to reclaim the coveted title.
Joining them will be 16 teams Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor Leste and Turkmenistan who are seeking to make their maiden appearance in the Finals.
With the seedings based on a points system derived from their final rankings across the previous three editions of the Finals, the teams will have their names drawn from five pots, while an additional Hosts Pot will be used to separate the group hosts from the rest of the participants.
The pot allocations for the draw, with teams arranged according to rankings and group hosts placed in the Hosts Pot, are as below:
Pot 1:DPR Korea, Japan, Australia, Korea Republic
Pot 2:Chinese Taipei, Iran, Lebanon, Nepal, India, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh
Pot 3:Hong Kong, China, Cambodia, Palestine, Northern Mariana Islands, Indonesia
Pot 4:Guam, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Singapore
Pot 5:Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Timor-Leste
Hosts Pot: China (Seeding: 1), Vietnam (1), Uzbekistan (1), Myanmar (1), Malaysia (3), Bhutan (3), Laos (3), Tajikistan (4)
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