The Turkmenistan U20 national football team, led by head coach Didar Khadzhiev, has made a successful start to the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying tournament, as reported by the turkmenistan.gov.tm.
In the opening match of Group F, which is being played in the Thai city of Chonburi, the Turkmen footballers achieved a stunning victory over the strong Iraqi team with a score of 2:1.
Yakupmuhammet Govshudov opened the scoring in the 15th minute, calmly converting a penalty awarded for a handball by an Iraqi defender. In the second half, in the 59th minute, the opponents managed to restore parity thanks to a precise strike by Moamel Malik Sabah Alshawi. However, the Turkmen team showed character: in the 77th minute, Veysgeldy Orazdurdyyev quickly scored the rebound after a dangerous shot by Govshudov, earning his team a crucial three points.
In the parallel match of the quartet, the tournament hosts, Thailand, defeated the UAE team 1-0. The Turkmen youth team will play their next match against the Thai team, after which they will play their counterparts from the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, the battle for 15 spots in the final stage of the tournament, which will take place in the spring of 2027 in Hangzhou, China, unfolded across all qualifying groups. In their opening matches, Korea defeated Lebanon (3-2), India defeated Syria (1-0), Uzbekistan convincingly defeated Bangladesh (2-0), Iran defeated Palestine (2-1), and the DPRK team crushed Vietnam (3-0). Teams from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Australia also achieved significant success. The development stage also saw matches begin, with Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Myanmar, and the Maldives all achieving their first victories.
