The final draw for AFC Asian Cup 2023 is all set to take place on Thursday, May 11 at the Katara Opera House in Doha, Qatar. The draw will get underway at 4:30 PM (IST).
A total of 24 teams, including host nation Qatar and the Indian national football team will be a part of the draw.
Qatar is the defending champions after winning the last edition of the tournament and they will be keen to put on a successful title defence.
Qatar finds themselves in Pot 1 with the hosts set to play the tournament opener. The 24 teams have been divided into four pots for the draw with six teams in each pot.
The pots have been made based on the latest FIFA rankings and India, who are ranked 101 in the latest rankings are placed in Pot 4 alongside Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tajikistan, and Thailand.
This will be India’s second successive appearance at the AFC Asian Cup as the Blue Tigers also played in the previous continental cup campaign in 2019 before bowing out in the group stage.
India will have participated in five AFC Asian Cup tournaments, including the upcoming edition. Their best finish in the tournament came in the 1964 edition when they finished as runners-up.
Their other two appearances at the AFC Asian Cup were in 1984 and 2011 when they couldn’t make it beyond the group stage.
AFC Asian Cup 2023 pots for the final draw
Pot 1: Australia, Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
Pot 2: China, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, UAE, Uzbekistan
Pot 3: Bahrain, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Vietnam
Pot 4: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tajikistan, Thailand
Where to watch AFC Asian Cup 2023 draw live in India?
The AFC Asian Cup 2023 draw will be live-streamed in India on AFC’s YouTube channel and Facebook page from 4:30 PM IST.
There will be no live telecast on any TV channel in India for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 draw.
Photo credit: Alamy
