[Official] South Korea, Yemen, Vietnam, and the UAE in Group C of the U17 Asian Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean under-17 (U-17) national soccer team, "The Future of Korean Football," was in the same group with Yemen and Vietnam in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup finals.

AFC held a draw ceremony for the 2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 12th (Korea Standard Time).

South Korea, which was assigned to the top seed Port 1 according to the results of the last three tournaments, was in Group C along with Yemen (Port 2), Vietnam (Port 3), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In May, a total of 16 teams will participate in the tournament in Saudi Arabia, divided into four groups of four teams, and the first and second places in each group will reach the quarterfinals tournament to determine the winning team.

The team that will reach the quarterfinals of the tournament will qualify for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar in November.

Since last year, the FIFA U-17 World Cup has expanded from 24 countries to 48 countries, and the tournament has also been changed to an annual event. The AFC U-17 Asian Cup, which also serves as a World Cup qualifier, has also been held every year since last year.

The South Korean U-17 national soccer team, led by head coach Kim Hyun-joon, will try to win its third championship in 24 years since the 2002 tournament. Korea won the tournament in 1986 and 2002, respectively. In 2008, 2014, and 2023, he failed to win the championship even after reaching the final. In last year's match, he was eliminated after losing to Saudi Arabia in the semifinals after a penalty shootout. The most winning team in the tournament is Japan (four times) and the defending champion is Uzbekistan.

Port 2, Yemen, which belongs to the same group as South Korea, was also the final opponent at the 2002 tournament, when South Korea last reached the top of the tournament. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals at the 2023 tournament and in the group stage at the 2025 tournament. South Korea has a slight advantage with one win and two draws in the past between the U-17 national teams.

Vietnam is then a team that has been eliminated from the group stage in all three recent tournaments since the quarterfinals of the 2016 Indian tournament. South Korea is ahead of the all-time record with three wins and two draws. The UAE will participate in the finals of the tournament for the first time in 10 years since the quarterfinals of the 2016 tournament. In all past records, South Korea has the upper hand with three wins.

Meanwhile, Group A included Saudi Arabia (host country), Tajikistan, Thailand, Myanmar, and Group B included Japan, Indonesia, China, Qatar, and Group D Uzbekistan, Australia, India, and North Korea.

- Group A: Saudi Arabia (host country), Tajikistan, Thailand, Myanmar

- Group B: Japan, Indonesia, China, Qatar

- Group C : South Korea, Yemen, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

- Group D : Uzbekistan, Australia, India, North Korea

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*This content was translated by AI.