U-19 qualifications’ draw held

Kuala Lumpur: Record 12-time champions Korea Republic are pitted alongside with hosts Indonesia, Laos, Guam and the Philippines in the qualifiers for the AFC U-19 Championship 2014 to be held in Myanmar.

Korea Republic, who edged Iraq in the final of the competition in 2012, have won the competition 12 times since it started in 1959. The finals, to be held in Myanmar for the very first time, are the 38th edition of the competition.

The Group winners of the nine groups; five from West Zone and four from East will book a ticket to the October 2014 finals alongside with six best-placed sides and hosts Myanmar.

Qatar, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and China are hosting the qualifiers involving 40 countries across the continent.

The AFC U-19 Championship also serve as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the top-four sides of the 2014 edition booking a place each in the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in New Zealand in 2015.

 Groups

Group A: Uzbekistan, Qatar, India, Turkmenistan, Nepal           

Group B: Jordan, Yemen , Maldives , Afghanistan           

Group C: Iraq, Kuwait , Pakistan , Bangladesh

Group D : Iran, Saudi Arabia , Lebanon , Tajikistan

Group E: Syria, Oman, Bahrain,  Palestine

Group F            : Australia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Mongolia , Hong Kong

Group G: Korea Rep, Indonesia , Laos , Guam , Philippines        

Group H: DPR Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei

Group I: Japan, China, Malaysia, Macau