Kathmandu: Nepali national women’s team has been drawn along with Uzbekistan, Laos, and Sri Lanka in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers.

In the draw announced by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Thursday, Nepal has been drawn in Group’F’ for the qualifiers set to take place in Uzbekistan from June 23 to July 5.

The winner of the group will secure a place in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Ranked 50th in FIFA, Uzbekistan are the highest ranked team in the group followed by 99th placed Nepal. Laos are placed in 107th position and South Asian side Sri Lanka are in 158th place.

Altogether 34 teams will compete in the qualification stage after dividing them into eight groups. Two groups consist of five teams each while six groups have four teams.

Group ‘A’ consists of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Singapore, and Bhutan while Group ‘B’ includes Thailand, India, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, and Iraq.

Group ‘C’ features Bahrain, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Turkmenistan while Group ‘D’ includes Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan.

Vietnam, Guam, UAE, and the Maldives will compete In Group ‘E’  while Group ‘G’ consists of the Philippines, Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Group ‘H’ includes Malaysia, Palestine, North Korea, and Tajikistan.

The winners of each group will join top three teams of the 2022 edition including defending champions China, South Korea and Japan in the finals along with hosts Australia.