AFC Asian Cup 2007: Japan, Australia in tough groups
The draw for the AFC Asian Cup 2007 Finals has been made and traditional powerhouse Japan have been slotted in a tricky Group B with Qatar, UAE and…
Three-time winners Iran have been paired with last edition”s runners-up China, Uzbekistan and Malaysia in Group C. In Group D are Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic, Bahrain and Indonesia.
The four hosts were the first ones to come out of the pot with Thailand, picked out by Malaysian superstar Mawi and settled into Group A, setting in motion the proceedings for the glitzy evening which was replete with entertainment. Vietnam went to Group B, followed by Malaysia in Group C and Indonesia in Group D.
The AFC Asian Cup 2007 Organising Committee had decided before the draw to avoid slotting Saudi Arabia, three-time winners in 1984, 1988 and 1996, in the Thailand group due to diplomatic reasons. And, this also precluded the possibility of Saudi Arabia being placed in the Vietnam-based pool as the runners-up here are scheduled to play their quarterfinal match in Bangkok.
So it was inevitable that the Saudis would have to be placed in either the Malaysia or Indonesia groups and thanks to a special draw by AFC General Secretary Dato Peter Velappan, the West Asians were sent to Group D, which will be based in Jakarta, and were later joined by Bahrain and two-time champions Korea Republic.
The AFC”s biggest competition kicks off on July 7, 2007, in Bangkok with Thailand taking on Iraq in Group A.
Australia, who topped their qualifying group easily in their maiden AFC Asian Cup, open their campaign against Oman on July 8 in the Thai capital while Japan get underway their title defence and hunt for a treble the next day in Hanoi against Qatar, whose u-23 team won the Doha Asian Games gold medal recently.
Iran, seeded second, will be up against Uzbekistan on July 11 in Kuala Lumpur while Korea Republic play Saudi Arabia the same day in a mouth-watering clash in Jakarta.
Former players Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan), Fan Zhiyi (China), Mohesin Al Jamaan (Saudi Arabia) and Kim Joo-sung (Korea Republic) helped in conducting the draw. Joining Mawi in the entertainment programme were Mint Closer” Uttawadee of Thailand, Tran Lap of Vietnam and Dewi Sandra of Indonesia.
The top-two teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals which are scheduled for July 21 and 22. The semifinals will take place on July 25 while the Final will be held in Jakarta on July 29.
GROUPS
Group A: Thailand, Australia, Oman, Iraq
Group B: Vietnam, Japan, Qatar, UAE
Group C: Malaysia, Iran, Uzbekistan, China
Group D: Indonesia, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain
AFC
