The Subway Australian U-23s’ path to the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 Saudi Arabia™ has been revealed, following the continental tournament’s Official Draw at AFC House, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 29 May.
The Subway Australian U-23s have been drawn in Group D alongside China PR (host), Northern Mariana Islands and Timor-Leste.
Qualifiers for the 7th edition of the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ – to be held in Saudi Arabia – will take place across Asia during the September FIFA Men’s International Window and feature 44 teams, who will be divided into 11 groups.
Each group within qualifying will be contested in a centralised league format, with teams seeded into pots based on a points system derived from their final rankings across the previous three editions of the Finals, which saw the Subway Australian U-23s drawn from Pot 1.
Subway Australian U-23s Head Coach, Tony Vidmar and his squad will travel to China PR where they will need to finish as one of the 11 Group winners or the four best second-placed teams to advance to the Finals.
Kuala Lumpur: The teams aspiring to vie for the title discovered their AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers opponents following the official draw at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday.
The 44 sides were drawn into 11 groups for the Qualifiers, which will be contested on September 1-9, 2025.
The 11 group winners and four best best-ranked runners-up will join Saudi Arabia, who are hosting the tournament for the first time, in January’s Finals.
Group A will see Jordan (hosts), Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei and Bhutan vying for the automatic ticket to the Finals while two-time champions Japan, Kuwait, Myanmar (hosts) and Afghanistan will square off in Group B.
Vietnam (hosts) lead the Group C cast with Yemen, Singapore and Bangladesh also hoping to advance while Australia, China PR (hosts), Timor-Leste and Northern Mariana Islands will battle it out in Group D.
🇯🇵 Japan add another illustrious #AFCU23 title 🏆 in the record books! pic.twitter.com/vIscoTx9Ta
— #AsianQualifiers (@afcasiancup) May 4, 2024
Group E saw 2018 winners Uzbekistan, Palestine, Kyrgyz Republic (hosts) and Sri Lanka being drawn together while Thailand (hosts), Malaysia, Lebanon and Mongolia are the Group F cast.
Inaugural champions Iraq will fancy their chances in Group G but Cambodia (hosts), Oman and Pakistan stand in their way while Group H will see Qatar (hosts), Bahrain, India and Brunei Darussalam jostling for the coveted automatic spot to the Finals.
✨𝐂 𝐇 𝐀 𝐌 𝐏 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍 𝐒✨
Memories that will last a lifetime!#AFCU23 pic.twitter.com/VeUHp8LkBm
— #AsianQualifiers (@afcasiancup) May 3, 2024
Group I is set for exciting battles with UAE (hosts), Islamic Republic of Iran, Hong Kong, China and Guam drawn together, Group J will see 2020 champions Korea Republic, Indonesia (hosts), Laos and Macau challenging each other while Group K features Tajikistan (hosts), Syria, Philippines and Nepal.
Draw Result
Group A: Jordan (H), Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, Bhutan
Group B: Japan, Kuwait, Myanmar (H), Afghanistan
Group C: Vietnam (H), Yemen, Singapore, Bangladesh
Group D: Australia, China PR (H), Timor-Leste, Northern Mariana Islands
Group E: Uzbekistan, Palestine, Kyrgyz Republic (H), Sri Lanka
Group F: Thailand (H), Malaysia, Lebanon, Mongolia
Group G: Iraq, Cambodia (H), Oman, Pakistan
Group H: Qatar (H), Bahrain, India, Brunei Darussalam
Group I: UAE (H), IR Iran, Hong Kong, China, Guam
Group J: Korea Republic, Indonesia (H), Laos, Macau
Group K: Tajikistan (H), Syria, Philippines, Nepal
