TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian U-17 national football team has secured a direct spot in the final round of the 2026 AFC U-17 Asia Cup. This achievement comes after Garuda Muda reached the quarter-finals in the 2025 edition of the tournament, held last April, meaning they no longer need to go through the qualification process.
Although the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has not issued an official statement, Indonesia U-17 head coach Nova Arianto confirmed the news. "Yes, it is true that Indonesia has qualified for the 2026 AFC U-17 Asia Cup," Nova said when contacted in Jakarta on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
Indonesia’s automatic qualification is linked to a format change by the AFC, which will now hold the U-17 tournament annually instead of every two years. Saudi Arabia is set to host the event consecutively until 2028.
Garuda Muda’s strong performance in the 2025 tournament also served as a qualifier for the U-17 World Cup, which will take place in Qatar in November.
Alongside Indonesia, seven other teams advanced directly from the 2025 AFC U-17 Asia Cup: Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, North Korea, Tajikistan, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.
Qatar is also confirmed to qualify automatically as host of the 2025 U-17 World Cup, bringing the total number of automatically qualified teams to nine. Seven remaining spots will be contested in regional qualifiers.
The update gained attention after ASEAN Football’s official Instagram account posted a graphic listing the nine teams that secured their places in the 2026 AFC U-17 Asia Cup.
"The road to the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2026, set to take place in Saudi Arabia in May 2026, is now clear! Qualifiers will be held from November 22 to 30, 2025. Nine teams have already qualified for the final tournament and will skip the qualifiers. These include the 8 quarter-finalists of the U-17 World Cup 2025, plus Qatar as the host of the World Cup," the post read.
To prepare for the upcoming World Cup, the Indonesian U-17 team is scheduled to conduct a training camp in Bali from July 7 to August 10. Coach Nova has summoned 34 players, made up of 17 who competed in the 2025 AFC U-17 Asia Cup and 17 newcomers, including nine players from the diaspora.
The training camp is part of the team’s buildup to the U-17 World Cup, which is set to run from November 3 to 27.
This edition of the tournament will feature 48 teams, doubling the number from previous years. Indonesia has been placed in Group H, where they will face Brazil, Honduras, and Zambia, which is making its debut in the competition.
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