On the afternoon of February 17, Beijing time, the official website of the AFC announced the final draw time for the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers. Next Thursday, 24 February, the final stage of the Asian Cup qualifiers will be drawn by group, including Jordan, Thailand and other teams.
From the announcement of the AFC, it can be seen that the 13 teams currently participating in the Asian Cup have been determined, in addition to the host Chinese team, there are Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Oman, Syria, Lebanon and Vietnam. It is worth mentioning that these 13 teams, in addition to Qatar, are all the top 12 teams in the Asian qualifiers, which is considered to be the strength of Asia. Qatar, on the other hand, was the defending champion of the last Asian Cup.
The remaining 24 teams will be divided into six groups and will compete for the final 11 places in the Asian Cup on 8, 11 and 14 June this year in Kuwait, India, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Malaysia.
Top 24 list and classification
First gear: Palestine, Jordan, Bahrain
Second gear: Hong Kong, Turkmenistan, Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand
Third gear: Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Yemen, Afghanistan
Fourth gear: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Singapore
Panel hosts: Kuwait, India, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Malaysia
The 24 teams will be divided into 6 groups, with the first and the 5 best-performing groups in each group second qualifying for the final Asian Cup.
Judging from the FIFA rankings, Uzbekistan, Bahrain and Jordan are ranked high in Asia, and they are undoubtedly the big favorite teams participating in the Asian Cup. Of course, we can't ignore the small teams at the bottom of the rankings, such as Singapore, which is in the fourth gear. Although Singapore is ranked 34th in Asia, they were the last four in the Southeast Asian Championships last year. In addition, teams such as Myanmar, which have made significant progress in the field of football in recent years, are also worth our attention.
The 2023 Asian Cup will be held from June 16 to July 16 next year in 10 cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Xi'an, Qingdao, Suzhou and Xiamen. It is worth mentioning that this is the second time in China's history that the Asian Cup has been held, the last time in 2004. At the last Asian Cup held in China, the national football team reached the final and finally lost 1-3 to Japan, equaling our historical best.
The national football team, which has been eliminated in the round of 12, can be said to have enough time to prepare for next year's Asian Cup. Although it is difficult for fans to satisfy the results achieved by the national football team in recent years, it is believed that we will usher in a different result when playing at home.