Australia have been drawn in Group D of the AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 along with Korea Republic, Syria, and Vietnam.
The official draw for the tournament was conducted by the Executive Director of AFC Competitions Shin Man Gil held in the Zuan Shi Ting Ballroom at the Traders Fudu Hotel, Changzhou in China today.
After learning of the draw results, Australian U-23 Men’s National Team Head Coach Josep Gombau said next year’s tournament will be key for Australia from both development and sporting perspectives.
“Next year’s tournament in China represents a fantastic development opportunity for our players who are aspiring to become the next generation of Caltex Socceroos,” said Gombau.
“All 16 teams in the tournament deserve to be there, so all of the groups will be tough, and that certainly goes for ours, too.”
“We will go to China with the ambition to win the competition, but also to expose our players to international football at a high level,” concluded Gombau.
AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 – Groups
Group A: China PR, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Oman
Group B: Japan, DPR Korea, Thailand, Palestine
Group C: Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia
Group D: Korea Republic, Australia, Syria, Vietnam