2019 AFC Asian Cup draw set for Friday

Financial Tribune – DUBAI,  The 2019 AFC Asian Cup official draw will take place on Friday in  Dubai, the UAE, with Iran seeded in Pot 1.

The upcoming Asian Cup, slated for next January in the UAE, is set to be the largest version of the continental competition yet with 24 teams, AFC’s website wrote.

A group containing Thailand, Kyrgyz Republic and the Philippines would be ideal for Iran.

The seeding for the eagerly-anticipated draw for the most prestigious competition on the continent was confirmed on April 12.

In line with previous editions of the AFC Asian Cup, the host UAE has been allocated the first position in Pot 1 of the draw. This will ensure the host country will play the opening match on Jan. 5, 2019, at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.

The 12 teams, which received an automatic bye into the Asian Cup 2019 after qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018-Asian Qualifiers Final Round, have already secured their places in pots one and two, and have been allocated spots following the latest FIFA ranking.

The 12 teams, which qualified from the recently concluded AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers Final Round, have been seeded in pots three and four and positioned accordingly based on the same rankings.

The host UAE, along with the highest-ranked Asian team in FIFA ranking, Iran, defending champion Australia and the tournament’s most successful nation Japan as well as South Korea and Saudi Arabia are placed in Pot 1, while China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar and Thailand have been seeded in Pot 2.

Debutants Kyrgyz Republic, which was the biggest mover in world football in the FIFA Ranking, up an astonishing 40 places, has taken a place in Pot 3 alongside Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India and Vietnam.

North Korea, the Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen and Turkmenistan make up the final six teams in the final pot.

The expansion from 16 to 24 teams will see countries representing all the five AFC zones divided into six groups of four teams each, with the top two and four best third-placed teams advancing into the final 16 of the competition, which lives up to its slogan of “Bringing Asia Together.”