Agencies
Bangkok
The AFC U17 Asian Cup Thailand 2023 kicks off this week, and the bright lights can’t come soon enough for Asia’s brightest young players.
After a five year-long hiatus following the 18th edition in Malaysia in 2018, the 19th event will finally get off in 2021 after a name change from the AFC U-16 Championship.
From June 15 to July 2, 2023, Thailand will play host to the AFC U17 Asian Cup for the fourth time (tied with Qatar), with the majority of the matches (26) taking place across three stadiums in Bangkok. The remaining five games take place in Chonburi, a city on the coast in the country’s southeast.
Qatar, who were drawn in group B alongside Korea Republic, IR Iran and Afghanistan, announced the final roster for the tournament; the squad includes:
Anas Al Raji, Ziad Mohammed Ismaiel Al Ahrak, and Rayan Al Ali (Al Gharafa) Jalal Amir, Abdulaziz Al Jaafri, Awab Mirghani, Tahseen Mohammed, Dakheel Al Hamad and Mohammed Al Seddiq (Al Duhail) Ahmed Al Mughni, Abdullah Al Otaibi, Bassam Adel, Khalid Al Shuaibi, Yazan Emad and Aws Adil (Al Sadd) Abdulrahman Awan (Al Wakrah) Ali Mohammed, Yousif Ziad and Nasser Adil (Al Ahli) Salim Reda and Mohammed Al Sulaiti (Al Arabi) Ethan Soccoro ( Al Rayyan).
Qatar’s first match will pit them against South Korea on Friday, June 16, at the Pathum Thani Stadium.
Qatar will next take on Iran on the 19th of the same month at the Rajamangala National Stadium before wrapping up the group stage against Afghanistan three days later at the same venue.
Eight former champions will be on the hunt to taste glory again when the Group Stage gets underway on Thursday, with the schedule for the 16 teams finalised during the official draw in March.
Qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023 is on the line too – the top four will be AFC’s representatives at the global showpiece in November.