FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN were yesterday drawn in a challenging Group D for the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
The official draw was staged at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to divide the 32 participating teams into eight groups of four, with each pool’s games being held at a centralised location.
Bahrain have been slotted alongside Jordan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. The kingdom will be hosting their group matches from August 25 to September 6 later this summer.
The other hosts are Kyrgyzstan for Group A, Uzbekistan for Group B, Vietnam for Group C, Qatar for Group E, Thailand for Group F, Cambodia for Group G, and Laos for Group H.
Following a single round-robin, the eight group winners and the seven best second-placed teams will advance to the 43rd edition of the AFC U20 Asian Cup.
Bahrain will be looking to qualify for the AFC U20 Asian Cup for the 10th time. They first competed in 1973 and last in 2016, but have missed the previous three editions.
The nationals’ best finish in the competition was as runners-up in 1986, while Bahrain were also third in 1977.