AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers: Format, India’s Fixtures, Standings & more

The qualifiers begin on the 6th of September.

The upcoming AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers is an U-23 continental competition, which will decide the teams that will play in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

A total of 43 teams will be participating in the qualifiers, that begins on the 6th of September. 

Of these 43 nations, only 16 will qualify for the Asian Cup next year, including hosts Qatar. 

Teams in group G

United Arab Emirates

India

China 

Maldives

Format

All 43 participating nations in the competition have been divided into 10 groups of four teams and one group of three teams. 

The teams will then play against one another in a round robin format. Once every team has played a game against each of their group opponents, the table toppers will qualify for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. The four best runner ups will also attain qualification. 

Teams will be ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria will be applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings.

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
5. Goal difference in all group matches;
6. Goals scored in all group matches;
7. Penalty shootout if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;

8. Lower disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
9. Drawing of lots.

Host Nations

Jordan (Group A)

South Korea (Group B)

Vietnam (Group C)

Bahrain (Group D)

Uzbekistan (Group E)

Kuwait (Group F)

China (Group G)

Thailand (Group H)

Tajikistan (Group I)

Saudi Arabia (Group J)

Indonesia (Group K)

India’s Fixtures

September 6, Wednesday: India vs Maldives (2 PM IST)

September 9, Saturday: China vs India (5:05 PM IST)

September 12, Tuesday: UAE vs India (2 PM IST)

India’s squad

Goalkeepers: Hrithik Tiwari, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Arsh Anwer Shaikh.

Defenders: Narender Gahlot, Hormipam Ruivah, Bikash Yumnam, Sanjeev Stalin, Sumit Rathi, Jitendra Singh, Abdul Rabeeh.

Midfielders: Thoiba Singh Moirangthem, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Jiteshwor Singh Yumkhaibam, Ayush Dev Chhetri, Vibin Mohanan, Brison Deuben Fernandes, Amarjit Singh Kiyam.

Forwards: Sourav K, Parthib Gogoi, Rohit Danu, Ninthoinganba Meetei Khumanthem, Sivasakthi Narayanan (C), Suhail Ahmad Bhat.

Standings 

Group G

Pos	Team	Points	MP	W	L	D	GD
1	India	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	China	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	United Arab Emirates	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Maldives	0	0	0	0	0	0