February 17 – The draw for the final round qualifiers for the Asian Cup China 2023 will be made next Thursday February 24 with 11 qualifying places to play for.
The AFC’s flagship men’s national team competition was successfully expanded in 2019 to 24 teams and hosted in the UAE. For 2023 13 teams, including hosts China have already qualified from the first round of Asian qualifiers that also served as first round qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
The final Group Stages will be played in held in June in centralised venues across all five AFC zones in six host nations – India, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.
The six group winners and five best runners up will qualify for China 2023.
The Asian Cup is the most diverse – culturally, politically and in terms of their football – major championship in the world, and in 2019 featured remarkable team and personal stories with war torn nations like Yemen, Syria and Palestine competing alongside established global competitors like Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Syria have already qualified for 2023 but Yemen and Palestine both have to qualify
The 2019 tournament also saw the emergence of Qatar who won the title at a time when political relations between the Qataris and Saudi Arabia were at a low because of the Saudi blockade. It made for tense and compelling encounters that were must-watch games.
Six of the nations in the final qualifying rounds have never appeared in the AFC Asian Cup, while Hong Kong and Cambodia are seeking to qualify for the first time in more than 50 years.
Pot seeding has been based on FIFA rankings. Within the six host nations, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic and India will be placed in position 1 of their Final Round groups, with Kuwait, Malaysia and Mongolia to fill positions 2, 3 and 4 of their respective groups
Pot 1, which contains the teams ranked 1-6, except for the host MAs, will feature Bahrain, Jordan and Palestine, while Thailand, Tajikistan, Philippines, Turkmenistan and Hong Kong will be drawn from Pot 2.
Afghanistan, Yemen, Myanmar, Maldives and Indonesia will occupy Pot 3, with Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka completing Pot 4.
Qualifying matches will be played across three match days – June 8, 11 and 14, 2022, while the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 kicks off on June 16, 2023.
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