Qatar to host AFC U23 group qualifiers
Qatar will host AFC U23 Championship Finals Group A qualifiers on March 22-26, 2019. The qualifiers divided the 44 participating teams into two zones of West (West, South, Central) with 24 teams, and East (East, ASEAN) with 20 teams. Qatar will face Oman, Nepal and Afghanistan, according to the AFC.
Host of Group B, Bahrain, will make their fourth attempt at qualifying to the Finals, as they go up against Palestine, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Iran, the host nation for Group C, will prove their mettle against inaugural champions Iraq, Turkmenistan and Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, the 2013 runners-up, will be aiming to better their previous best result after failing to progress past the group stage in January. They host United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Maldives in Group D.
Kuwait were among the first teams to participate in the firstever AFC U23 Championship in 2013, and will bid to reach the Finals again when they face opponents Jordan, Syria and Kyrgyz Republic in Group E.
Reigning champions and host nation Uzbekistan will begin their title defence against Tajikistan, India and Pakistan in Group F. Mongolia will be counting on home support when they host Group G and go up against North Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Cambodia have yet to reach the Finals but they are determined to impress when they welcome Korea Republic, Australia and Chinese Taipei in Group H.
After missing out on two editions, Group I host, Myanmar, will play against 2016 winners Japan, Timor-Leste and Macau.
Group J host Malaysia, who reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time in their history in January, are set to host China PR, Laos and Philippines.
Vietnam, who finished runners-up in the 2018 edition returns to the Qualifiers as host of Group K, where they will meet Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam.
The 11 group winners and four best second-placed teams among all groups will qualify for the Finals, with the host nation of the Finals receiving automatic qualification.