UAE to play Asian Cup opener on January 5

dubai — Hosts UAE will play the tournament opener of the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 after being placed in Pot 1 for the draw.

The draw is set to take place at the Armani Hotel at the iconic Burj Khalifa on May 4 for the 24team tournament, and Alberto Zaccheroni’s side are in Pot 1 alongside Australia, Japan, Iran, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE, who will be the top seeds in Group A, will play the opener at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on January 5, 2019.

The four Pots for the top continental competition was announced at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday and sees the 12 teams, who made it through to the final round of the Fifa World Cup Russia 2018 Asia Zone Qualifiers placed in Pot 1 and 2.

China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar and Thailand are in Pot 2.

The AFC said that these 12 teams were allocated spots following Thursday’s publication of the latest Fifa rankings.

The AFC also said that the other 12 teams, who had qualified following the conclusion of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers Final Round have been placed in Pot 3 and Pot 4 based on their rankings.

India are in Pot 3 with Sunil Chhetri’s side placed along with Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, Vietnam and tournament debutants Kyrgyz Republic.

Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen and Turkmenistan make up Pot 4.

The tournament has been expanded from 16 to 24 teams will see teams divided into six groups of four each. The top two teams from each group and the four best third-placed teams will make it o the Round of 16.