October 25 – The draw ceremony for the AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023 finals will see Asia’s top 16 teams drawn from four pots tomorrow (Wednesday) in Tashkent.
The U20 Asian Cup is returning after a four-year absence due to the pandemic and will be played March 1 to 18, 2023.
It is the first time that a nation from the AFC’s central zone have hosted the U20 competition that was originally scheduled to be played in Uzbekistan in 2020 before covid forced postponement.
At the last finals in 2018 in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia emerged victorious with a 2-1 win over South Korea.
Uzbekistan qualify for the finals as hosts alongside the 10 qualifying group winners and five best runners-up from the groups.
They will be divided into four groups of four teams, with the top two sides in each group advancing to the Quarter-finals.
Uzbekistan will be placed as the top seeded Member Association while the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 team ranking will determine the seeding of the remaining contenders.
Joining Uzbekistan in Pot 1 are Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic and 2014 champions Qatar, who advanced to the Finals with an undefeated record in their Group B qualifiers.
2016 title winners Japan, 2018 Quarter-finalists Tajikistan, Australia and Indonesia will be in Pot 2 followed by Jordan, China PR, four-time champions Iraq and 2016 Semi-finalists Vietnam in Pot 3.
In Pot 4 Iran, who will be looking to end their 47-year title drought, will be drawn alongside Oman, Syria as well as Kyrgyz Republic who return to the tournament after a 17-year hiatus.
The top four teams from the finals qualify for the U20 World Cup 2023 in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11, 2023.
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