AFC U-23 CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 HOPEFULS LEARN THEIR OPPONENTS

uala Lumpur: Forty AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 hopefuls discovered their qualifying opponents during the stage's official draw at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday.

The ten group winners and five best second-placed teams among all the groups will advance to the finals. The qualifiers will take place from July 19 to 23, 2017 in the respective host countries which are Kyrgyz Republic, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Myanmar, DPR Korea, Thailand and China PR.

Although directly qualified as the finals host, China PR have expressed interest to participate in the qualifying stage. Therefore, if China PR finish top of their group or finish among the five best second-placed teams, the next (sixth) second-placed team will qualify to the final stage of the competition in January, 2018.

WEST Zone (West + South + Central)

Group A
A1. ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
A2. OMAN
A3. KYRGYZ REPUBLIC (host)
A4. SRI LANKA

Group B
B1. IRAQ
B2. SAUDI ARABIA (host)
B3. BAHRAIN
B4. AFGHANISTAN

Group C
C1. QATAR (host)
C2. SYRIA
C3. INDIA
C4. TURKMENISTAN

Group D
D1. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (host)
D2. UZBEKISTAN
D3. LEBANON
D4. NEPAL

Group E
E1. JORDAN
E2. TAJIKISTAN
E3. PALESTINE (host)
E4. BANGLADESH

EAST Zone (East + ASEAN)

Group F
F1. AUSTRALIA
F2. MYANMAR (host)
F3. SINGAPORE
F4. BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

Group G
G1. DPR KOREA (host)
G2. LAOS
G3. CHINESE TAIPEI
G4. HONG KONG

Group H
H1. THAILAND (host)
H2. INDONESIA
H3. MALAYSIA
H4. MONGOLIA

Group I
I1. KOREA REPUBLIC
I2. VIETNAM (host)
I3. TIMOR-LESTE
I4. MACAU

Group J
J1. JAPAN
J2. CHINA PR (host)
J3. CAMBODIA
J4. PHILIPPINES