Turkmenistan secured their second victory in the ongoing AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers Group A held in Amman, Jordan.

After a big success in the first match against Chinese Taipei with a score of 5:1, the team under Ahmet Agamyradov won against Bhutan U23 – 2:0, The Golden age electronic newspaper reports.

In the first round, Bhutan lost to the Jordan team with a crushing score of 0:11, which gave some hope for an easy victory for our team against the declared underdogs.

Turkmenistan took the initiative from the very first whistle and opened the scoring in the 12th minute after Kelzang Jigmi fouled Dayanch Meredov in the penalty area, and Sohbet Durdyyev converted the penalty.

The Turkmen players continued to increase the pressure and were rewarded during added time. In the 93rd minute, after substitute goalkeeper Sonam Choda interrupted a pass from FC Ahal’s midfielder Begench Mamiyev, the forward of FC Kopetdag, Dayanch Meredov, who was first to the rebound, set the final score at 2:0.

In another second-round match, Jordan achieved a big victory over Chinese Taipei 6:0.

Recall that 44 teams are participating in the qualification for the 2026 Youth Asian Cup, divided into 11 qualifying groups. The group winners, as well as the four best second-placed teams, will qualify for the final part of the Asian Cup, which will take place from January 7 to 25, 2026, for the first time in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia youth team qualified directly for the final stage of the tournament as hosts.