The Olyroos' first official step on the road to Paris 2024 has been revealed!
The AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™ official draw took place in Kuala Lumpur at AFC House on Thursday, 25 May, with Australia drawn into Group I alongside Tajikistan, Laos and DPR Korea.
Tajikistan is the group's designated host nation, with the qualifiers set to take place between September 4 - 12 this year.
Dushanbe is a familiar city for the Olyroos, who played their last set of AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the same location back in 2021.
Thursday's draw saw 43 participating teams divided into 11 groups, 10 groups consisting of four teams each, with the last group comprising three.
To qualify for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™, Australia will need to finish as group winner or be one of the four best second placed teams among all eleven groups.
Should the Subway Olyroos qualify for the 16-team AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™, they need to finish in the top three to automatically qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics as the AFC representatives, while the fourth-best team will play an AFC-CAF play-off match for the final qualification spot.
AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™ Group Draw
Group A: Jordan (Host), Syria, Oman, Brunei Darussalam
Group B: Korea Republic (Host), Myanmar, Kyrgyz Republic, Qatar
Group C: Vietnam (Host), Singapore, Yemen, Guam
Group D: Japan, Bahrain (Host), Palestine, Pakistan
Group E: Uzbekistan (Host), IR Iran, Hong Kong (China), Afghanistan
Group F: Iraq, Kuwait (Host), Timor Leste, Macau
Group G: United Arab Emirates, India, Maldives, China PR (Host)
Group H: Thailand (Host), Malaysia, Bangladesh, Phillippines
Group I: Australia, Tajikistan (Host), Laos, DPR Korea
Group J: Saudi Arabia (Host), Lebanon, Cambodia, Mongolia
Group K: Turkmenistan, Indonesia (Host), Chinese Taipei
More information can be found on the AFC website here, with the match schedule and further details to be confirmed soon.