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Bahrain will take on South Korea, Jordan and Malaysia in Group E of Asian Cup 2023 after the draw was conducted in Doha yesterday.
The draw was held in the presence of Fifa president Gianni Infantino, Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Qatar Football Association chief Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Japan, winners of the competition on a record four occasions and who were runners-up four years ago, have been drawn in Group D to face Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam.
Group B will feature 2015 champions Australia alongside Uzbekistan, Syria and India while three-time winners Iran headline Group C alongside the UAE, Hong Kong and Palestine.
Saudi Arabia, who won the most recent of their three titles in 1996, meet Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman in Group F.
South Korea will be looking to claim the title for the first time since 1960. “I spoke to a lot of my players, they are all over Europe, they play in the K-League, they play in China, they play in Japan and they’re all very excited,” said South Korea coach Juergen Klinsmann.
“We have a strong team. We look at ourselves in the mirror and say we’re going to go to Qatar to win the tournament.”
The tournament, originally scheduled to be played in June and July this year, will run from January 12 to February 10 next year and will be held in Qatar after original hosts China stood down due to the country’s Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Group A: Qatar, China, Tajikistan, Lebanon
Group B: Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, India
Group C: Iran, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Palestine
Group D: Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, Vietnam
Group E: South Korea, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain
Group F: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Oman
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