DOHA
India were on Thursday drawn in a tough Group B of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup alongside the continent's heavyweights Australia, Syria and Uzbekistan here.
The draw was conducted at the Qatar Opera House in the Qatari capital.
The Blue Tigers, who are placed at 101 in the FIFA rankings, will be playing the Asian Cup for the fifth time. India's opponents in the tournament proper, Australia are ranked 29th in the world, Uzbekistan are 74th, and Syria occupy the 90th position.
All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey, senior men's national team head coach Igor Stimac, and women's side coach Maymol Rocky were present at the venue for the official draw ceremony.
Beginning from Pot 4, India were the first team to be drawn into Group B, gaining B4, after which they were placed alongside Syria (B3), Uzbekistan (B2) and Australia (B1), respectively.
Speaking ahead of the draw, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said, “The last time the AFC Asian Cup was played in Qatar was 12 years ago, and there has been great progress since then. We have also initiated key enhancements.
Maymol Rocky, who was conducting the draw along with other representatives from around Asia, said, “This is the first time that India has qualified for consecutive editions of the AFC Asian Cup, and it's a fantastic opportunity for our country to be back at this stage.”
GROUPSA: Qatar, China PR, Tajikistan, Lebanon
B: Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, India
C: IR Iran, UAE, Hong Kong, Palestine
D: Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, Vietnam
E: Korea Republic, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain
F: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyz Republic, Oman
