Futsalroos draw tough group

The Qantas Futsalroos have been drawn with Iran, Qatar and the Korea Republic in Group C for the AFC Futsal Championship which will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 25 May – 1 June 2012.

The Qantas Futsalroos have been drawn with Iran, Qatar and the Korea Republic in Group C for the AFC Futsal Championship which will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 25 May - 1 June 2012.

The draw ceremony was conducted by AFC Director of Futsal Ali Targholizadeh at the Mövenpick Hotel in Dubai, UAE yesterday.

After learning of the draw, Qantas Futsalroos head coach Steven Knight was fully aware of the challenge that awaits his team.

“It-s a hard group and it-s never easy when you draw the top-ranked team in Asia (IR Iran), but you have to play the hand you-re dealt and we are looking forward to the challenge.

“We know about the Korea Republic, but Qatar is the unknown quantity in the group.

“We-ll get together as a squad in the coming weeks to start our preparations for the tournament.

“Our goal will be to get through to at least the quarter-finals to have a shot at qualifying for the World Cup,” concluded Knight.

The Qantas Futsalroos will open their campaign against Qatar at the Al-Shabab Stadium on 25 May, followed by the Korea Republic the next day with their final group match against IR Iran at the Al Wasl Stadium on 27 May.

The top two in each group (eight teams in total) will qualify to the knockout stage (quarterfinals) and the four winners of the quarterfinals will play in the semi-finals. The two winners will advance to the final and the two losing teams will play a 3rd and 4th placing play-off.

The top four teams from the AFC Futsal Championship will qualify for FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012 which will be held from 1-18 November 2012.

AFC Futsal Championship UAE 2012 Groups Group A: UAE, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan & Turkmenistan Group B: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan & Lebanon Group C: IR Iran, Australia, Qatar & Korea Republic Group D: Uzbekistan, Indonesia, China PR & Kuwait