India U20 to play Yemen friendlies ahead of AFC Asian Cup qualifiers

India U20 will face Yemen in two closed-door friendlies in Bengaluru on August 20 and 23 as part of their preparations for the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers. The Blue Colts will then travel to Tashkent on August 26.

Hyderabad: The Indian U20 men’s team will play two friendly matches against Yemen at the Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru on August 20 and 23, 2026, as part of their preparations for the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers.
Both encounters will kick off at 16:30 and will be played behind closed doors.

These will be India’s third and fourth friendly matches of the training camp, following two victories over Singapore at the same venue on August 3 and 6, with the Blue Colts winning 3-0 and 1-0, respectively.

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India and Yemen have only met once before at this age-group — a goalless draw in the AFC U19 Championship Qualifiers in 2017.

Following the friendlies, the Blue Colts will travel to Tashkent on August 26, five days before the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers, to acclimatise to the local conditions and get additional training time in the Tashkent weather.

India will open their campaign against Syria on August 31, before facing Uzbekistan on September 3 and Bangladesh on September 6.