THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

Indian junior national teams handed interesting draws

AIFF Regional Academy Navi Mumbai

India has been drawn to interesting Qualifying Groups of the AFC U-16 Championship 2014 and the AFC U-19 Championship 2014.

The Indian U-16 national team will face Kuwait, Tajikistan, Lebanon and Bhutan in Group A, which will be played in Kuwait. It is a doable group for the Indian boys and the hopes are high to earn a spot in the finals scheduled to take place in Thailand.

A total of 43 nations have been drawn to ten groups. The AFC U-16 Championship 2014 Qualifying Group winners and the best five runners-up will join host Thailand in the finals next year.

The Indian U-19 national team will join Uzbekistan, Qatar, Turkmenistan and Nepal in Group A of the AFC U-19 Championship 2014 qualifiers. Group A will be played in Qatar and the finals will be hosted by Myanmar in October 2014. The group winners of the nine groups alongside with the six best-placed sides and hosts Myanmar will be seen in action at the finals next year.

The AFC U-16 Championship 2014 and the AFC U-19 Championship 2014 will serve as the Asian Qualifiers for the respective FIFA World Cup in the two age groups. The four semi-finalists of the AFC U-16 Championship 2014 will qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, while the four semi-finalists of the AFC U-19 Championship 2014 would book their tickets for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

AFC U-16 Championship 2014 – The Qualifying Groups
Group A: Kuwait, India, Tajikistan, Lebanon, Bhutan
Group B: Uzbekistan, Yemen, Palestine, Maldives
Group C: Iraq, Bahrain, Nepal, Turkmenistan
Group D: Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Jordan
Group E: Iran, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Group F: Oman, Qatar, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan
Group G: Australia, Singapore, Hongkong, Chinese Taipei, Macau
Group H: South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Guam, Brunei
Group I: China, North Korea, Myanmar, Northern Mariana Islands
Group J: Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines

AFC U-19 Championship 2014 – The Qualifying Groups
Group A: Uzbekistan, Qatar, India, Turkmenistan, Nepal
Group B: Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Maldives, Afghanistan
Group C: Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan, Bangladesh
Group D: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Tajikistan
Group E: Syria, Oman, Bahrain, Palestine
Group F: Australia, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Mongolia, Hongkong
Group G: South Korea, Indonesia, Laos, Guam, Philippines
Group H: North Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei
Group I: Japan, China, Malaysia, Macau