India drawn in Group B for AFC Qualifiers

Kuala Lumpur

India’s senior women’s football team will face Thailand, Mongolia, Timor Leste, and Iraq in Group B of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers. The draw was conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Thailand will host the Group B matches from June 23 to July 5 in a centralized, single round-robin format. Only the group winners will secure a spot in the final tournament, scheduled to take place in Australia from March 1 to 26, 2026.

Eight teams will qualify for the tournament, joining hosts Australia and the top three finishers from the 2022 edition—China, South Korea, and Japan. The top six teams in Australia 2026 will also earn a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027.

The draw divided 34 teams into eight groups based on the FIFA Women’s World Ranking as of March 6, 2025.

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The groupings are as follows:

• Group A: Iran, Jordan (H), Lebanon, Singapore, Bhutan

• Group B: Thailand (H), India, Mongolia, Timor Leste, Iraq

• Group C: Myanmar (H), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan

• Group D: Chinese Taipei, Indonesia (H), Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan

• Group E: Vietnam (H), Guam, UAE, Maldives

• Group F: Uzbekistan (H), Nepal, Laos, Sri Lanka

• Group G: Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Cambodia (H), Saudi Arabia

• Group H: DPR Korea, Malaysia, Palestine, Tajikistan (H)