# 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualification

The 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualification was an international men's under-17 football competition which was held to decide the participating teams of the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup. It was held as under-17 tournament for the first time after rebranding by AFC.

## Format changes

The AFC Executive Committee had approved several strategic recommendations put forward by the AFC Competitions Committee. One of which was the removal of zoning principles in the AFC's youth competitions.

## Draw

Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 44 teams entered the competition. The initial final tournament hosts Bahrain decided to participate in qualification despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament before its eventual withdrawal from hosting. The draw was held on 24 May 2022.
The 44 teams were allocated to 4 groups of five teams and 6 groups of four teams, with teams seeded according to their performance in the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship final tournament and qualification (overall ranking shown in parentheses; NR stands for non-ranked teams). A further restriction was also applied, with the ten teams serving as qualification group hosts drawn into separate groups.
On 16 August, FIFA Council unanimously decided to suspend India with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes. On 27 August, FIFA lifted the suspension, allowing India to compete.
On 28 September, Timor-Leste withdrew from the competition, citing financial reasons. Sri Lanka withdrew from the qualification on 4 October.
| | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
| Host Pot | Tajikistan (2) (H) Australia (4) (H) Indonesia (6) (H) Oman (7) (H) | Jordan (14) (H) Vietnam (15) (H) Saudi Arabia (17) (H) Bangladesh (18) (H) | Uzbekistan (22) (H) Kyrgyzstan (24) (H) | | |
| Remaining Teams | Japan (1) South Korea (3) India (8) Iran (9) Yemen (10) Thailand (11) | Iraq (12) Malaysia (13) Afghanistan (16) China (19) Hong Kong (20) Brunei (21) | Myanmar (23) Timor-Leste (25) (W) Qatar (26) Palestine (27) Cambodia (28) Syria (29) Singapore (30) Chinese Taipei (31) | Nepal (32) Lebanon (34) Laos (35) Philippines (36) Mongolia (37) Maldives (38) Guam (39) Bhutan (40) Sri Lanka (42) (W) Northern Mariana Islands (43) | Kuwait (NR) Turkmenistan (NR) United Arab Emirates (NR) Bahrain (33) |

### Notes

* Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
* (H): Qualification group hosts
* (Q): Final tournament hosts, automatically qualified regardless of qualification results
* (W): Withdrew after draw

## Player eligibility

Players born on or after 1 January 2006 were eligible to compete in the tournament.

## Format

In each group, teams will play each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the six best runners-up will qualify for the final tournament.

### Tiebreakers

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 are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 7.3):
* Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* 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;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;
* 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);
* Drawing of lots.

## Groups

The matches were played between 1–9 October 2022.

### Group A

* All matches were held in Jordan.
* Times listed are UTC+3.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | +15 | 12 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Turkmenistan | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 5 | |
| 3 | Jordan (H) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | Syria | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 5 | |
| 5 | Philippines | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 0 | |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-heads goals scored: Turkmenistan 4, Jordan 3, Syria 1.

### Group B

* All matches were held in Indonesia.
* Times listed are UTC+7.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Malaysia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 10 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Indonesia (H) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 9 | |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 9 | +8 | 6 | |
| 4 | Palestine | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 3 | |
| 5 | Guam | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 28 | −27 | 1 | |

### Group C

* All matches were held in Oman.
* Times listed are UTC+4.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Qatar | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 10 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Oman (H) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 | |
| 3 | Iraq | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | |
| 4 | Bahrain | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 4 | |
| 5 | Lebanon | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 | |

### Group D

* All matches were held in Saudi Arabia.
* Times listed are UTC+3.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia (H) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | +17 | 12 | Final tournament |
| 2 | India | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Kuwait | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 | |
| 4 | Myanmar | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 3 | |
| 5 | Maldives | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 27 | −27 | 0 | |

### Group E

* All matches were held in Bangladesh.
* Times listed are UTC+6.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yemen | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | +18 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Bangladesh (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Singapore | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 3 | |
| 4 | Bhutan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | −11 | 0 | |

### Group F

* All matches were held in Vietnam.
* Times listed are UTC+7.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Vietnam (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | +12 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Thailand | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Chinese Taipei | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 3 | |
| 4 | Nepal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 | |

### Group G

* All matches were held in Australia.
* Times listed are UTC+11.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Australia (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 1 | +35 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | China | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 3 | +18 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Cambodia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 19 | −15 | 3 | |
| 4 | Northern Mariana Islands | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | −38 | 0 | |

### Group H

* All matches were held in Tajikistan.
* Times listed are UTC+5.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Tajikistan (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Afghanistan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 3 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Mongolia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 | |
| 4 | Timor-Leste | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
* ↑ Timor-Leste withdrew from the tournament on 28 September 2022.

### Group I

* All matches were held in Kyrgyzstan.
* Times listed are UTC+6.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Iran | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | +17 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Laos | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Kyrgyzstan (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | −16 | 0 | |

### Group J

* All matches were held in Uzbekistan.
* Times listed are UTC+5.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Uzbekistan (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | +15 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 2 | South Korea | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 3 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Brunei | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | −24 | 0 | |
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
* ↑ Sri Lanka withdrew from the tournament on 4 October 2022.

## Ranking of second-placed teams

Due to groups having a different number of teams, the results against the fourth-placed teams in groups with four teams, or the results against the fourth and fifth-placed teams in groups with five teams, was not considered for this ranking.
Originally only the five best runners-up would qualify, but due to Bahrain’s withdrawal as the final tournament host, the sixth-best runner-up also qualified.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | J | South Korea | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 3 | Final tournament |
| 2 | G | China | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 3 | Final tournament |
| 3 | H | Afghanistan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 3 | Final tournament |
| 4 | D | India | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 | Final tournament |
| 5 | F | Thailand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | Final tournament |
| 6 | I | Laos | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | Final tournament |
| 7 | B | Indonesia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 8 | E | Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 9 | C | Oman | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 | |
| 10 | A | Turkmenistan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 1 | |

## Qualified teams

A total of 16 teams including hosts qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in AFC U-16 Championship |
| Japan | Group A winners | 7 October 2022 | 15 (1985, 1988, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) |
| Malaysia | Group B winners | 9 October 2022 | 5 (2004, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2018) |
| Qatar | Group C winners | 7 October 2022 | 10 (1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2014) |
| Saudi Arabia | Group D winners | 9 October 2022 | 10 (1985, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016) |
| Yemen | Group E winners | 9 October 2022 | 5 (2002, 2006, 2012, 2016, 2018) |
| Vietnam | Group F winners | 9 October 2022 | 7 (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2016, 2018) |
| Australia | Group G winners | 9 October 2022 | 6 (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) |
| Tajikistan | Group H winners | 9 October 2022 | 3 (2006, 2010, 2018) |
| Iran | Group I winners | 7 October 2022 | 11 (1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) |
| Uzbekistan | Group J winners | 7 October 2022 | 9 (1994, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) |
| South Korea | Best runners-up | 9 October 2022 | 14 (1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) |
| China | 2nd best runners-up | 9 October 2022 | 14 (1985, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014) |
| Afghanistan | 3rd best runners-up | 9 October 2022 | 1 (2018) |
| India | 4th best runners-up | 9 October 2022 | 8 (1990, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2018) |
| Thailand | 5th best runners-up | 9 October 2022 | 11 (1985, 1988, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) |
| Laos | 6th best runners-up | 9 October 2022 | 2 (2004, 2012) |
    $^1$ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

## Goalscorers

There were 344 goals scored in 70 matches, for an average of 4.91 goals per match.
8 goals
* Nestory Irankunda
* Wang Yudong
7 goals
* Arkhan Kaka
6 goals
* Reza Ghandipour
* Homare Tokuda
5 goals
* Mitchell Glasson
* Max Hately
* Thanglalsoun Gangte
* Kasra Taheri
* Kang Ju-hyeok
4 goals
* Miguel Di Pizio
* Tiago Quintal
* Arami Wafiy
* Talal Haji
* Tontawan Puntamunee
* Walid Malallah
* Abdulaziz Al-Marzouki
* Lazizbek Mirzaev
3 goals
* Hakim Niazi
* Zhang Junjie
* Lin Hai-cheng
* Vanlalpeka Guite
* Esmaeil Gholizadeh
* Yutaka Michiwaki
* Peter Phanthavong
* Anjasmirza Saharudin
* Amer Barabra
* Ramiz Al-Attar
* Nawaf Al-Bishri
* Enwer Annaýew
* Denis Titow
* Ghaith Abdullah
* Abdulkhamid Turgunboev
2 goals
* Peter Antoniou
* Campbell Dovison
* Andriano Lebib
* Sami Bassam
* Huang Kaijun
* Liu Chengyu
* Wang Haobin
* Habil Akbar
* Nabil Asyura
* Mohammad Askari
* Ali Akbar Al Darraji
* Shota Kofie
* Gaku Nawata
* Azzedine Abu Aqoula
* Ibrahim Sabra
* Mohammad Al-Hajjei
* Sayphone Keohanam
* Faris Danish
* Zainurhakimi Zain
* Pyae Sone Aung
* Saw Myo Zaw
* Tamim Al-Breiki
* Bassam Adel
* Ali Mohammad Shahabi
* Nawaf Al-Jadaani
* Nawaf Al-Janahi
* Yu Byeong-heon
* Alaa Al-Deen Al-Hindi
* Homam Mahmoud
* Saeed Amer
* Muhammad Juma'a
* Bùi Hoàng Sơn
* Lê Đình Long Vũ
* Nguyễn Công Phương
* Nguyễn Lê Phát
* Abdulrahman Abdulnabi
* Mohammad Ameer Al-Brwany
* Mohammad Khaled Moqbel
* Mohammad Wahib Noman
* Adel Qasem
* Haitham Al-Salami
* Anwar Al-Turaiqi
1 goal
* Ali Reza Rahimi
* Ali Ramazani
* Andre Parkes
* Jaylen Pearman
* Moltagim Alam Hemel
* Mohammed Nazim Uddin
* Makara Soun
* Menghong Sou
* David Var
* Tum Makara
* Kuai Jiwen
* Li Ming
* Mei Shuaijun
* Ouyang Jiaxin
* Lu Yi-ting
* Tai Yan-yao
* Riku Meyar
* Chan Ho Ka
* Timothy Chow
* Aman
* Lalhmingchhuanga Fanai
* Phoenix Oinam
* Korou Singh Thingujam
* Boby Singh Yendrembam
* Figo Dennis
* Muhamad Gaoshirowi
* Jehan Pahlevi
* Ji Da-bin
* Riski Afrisal
* Sulthan Zaky
* Narendra Tegar
* Nima Andarz
* Alireza Homaeifard
* Bawan Ali
* Ameer Jawad
* Shotaro Shibata
* Amin Abu Khalifa
* Abdulrahman Al-Khedr
* Soud Al-Anbari
* Hussain Awadh
* Ahmad Boodai
* Soud Al-Kandari
* Yousef Al-Mutairi
* Fadel Al-Sarraf
* Argen Emilbekov
* Manas Kubanychbek Uulu
* Aidar Sharipov
* Khammanh Thapaseuth
* Pheatsamone Sihathep
* Mohamad Yassine
* Afiq Danish Zulkifli
* Qahir Dzakirin
* Aung Zaw Myo
* Htoo Wai Yan
* Myat Phone Khant
* Myo Min Khant
* Prashant Laksam
* Dhan Singh
* Omar Al-Jabri
* Abdullah Al-Maqbali
* Al-Haitham Al-Shekaily
* Tareq Awawda
* Mahmoud Radi
* Husam Alshaer
* Mohammed Zghir
* Lucas Andan
* Joaquin Collo
* Bacchus Ekberg
* Esmail Al-Ahrak
* Tahsin Jamshid
* Ahmad Nasir
* Khalid Al-Shaaibi
* Jathub Al-Dhafiri
* Ziyad Hibah
* Faris Yousef
* Amar Al-Yuhaybi
* Harris Ilhan
* Muhammad Syazwan
* Hwang Ji-sung
* Kang Min-woo
* Kim Bum-hwan
* Ko Jong-hyun
* Yoon Do-yong
* Anas Dahan
* Kawa Issa
* Hasan Al-Mahmoud
* Dilovari Jamshedzoda
* Bekhruz Khujaev
* Sheravgan Saidov
* Abubakr Sulaymonov
* Thanakrit Jampalee
* Phongpech Aiemsaard
* Ali Jamal
* Hilal Al-Suwaidi
* Dilshod Abdullaev
* Kuvonchbek Abraev
* Ollobergan Karimov
* Zikrillokhon Mukhtorov
* Mamadalikhon Olimov
* Amirbek Saidov
* Shodiyor Shodiboev
* Azizbek Tulkunbekov
* Ozodbek Uktamov
* Huỳnh Văn Danh
* Nguyễn Hoàng Anh
* Phan Thanh Đức Thiện
* Vi Đình Thượng
* Abdulrahman Abdullah
* Ahmad Al-Gumaei
* Esam Radman
* Saeed Al-Shaban
1 own goal
* Ron Chongmieng (against Australia)
* Donovan Moss (against Indonesia)
* Kameran Ahmed Khudhair (against Qatar)
* Ahmad Khaleel (against Japan)
* Itgel Balchindorj (against Tajikistan)
* Aung Zaw Myo (against Saudi Arabia)
* Nolan Ngewakl (against Australia)
* Ibrahim Al-Fuqaha (against Indonesia)
* Rashid Mazeed (against Lebanon)
* Brayden Goh (against Bangladesh)
* Isaac Lee (against Bangladesh)
* Yu Byeong-heon (against Uzbekistan)