Asian Games football draw released
The draw for the Guangzhou Asian Games football tournament has been released.
A total of 24 teams will see action in the men's tournament while seven teams will play in the women's tournament.
The teams in the men's competition were divided into six groups of four.
China, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan and Japan will slug it out in Group A while Iran, Vietnam, Bahrain and Turkmenistan will feature in Group B.
South Korea, Palestine, Jordan and North Korea will play in Group C while defending champions Qatar were bracketed in Group D with Kuwait, India and Singapore.
Group E is composed of Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Bangladesh while Group F is made up of Thailand, Maldives, Oman and Pakistan.
The top two teams in each group plus the four best third-placed teams will advance to the Round-of-16 knockout stage.
The men's tournament will start on 7 November, five days before the official opening of the Games, and will end on 25 November.
Qatar defeated Iraq 1-0 in the final four years ago in Doha. Bilal Mohammed scored the match's only goal in the 63rd minute to lead the host nation to victory.
Like the Olympic football tournament, the Asian Games competition is exclusive for under-23 players and each squad is allowed to field three overage players.
The participants in the women's tournament were divided into two groups.
China, South Korea, Vietnam and Jordan will feature in Group A while North Korea, Japan and Thailand will lock horns in Group B.
The top two teams will progress to the semi-finals.
The women's tournament will be held from 14 November to 23 November.
North Korea defeated Japan on penalties in the final of the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
The matches will be played at the Ying Dong Stadium, Huadu Stadium, Huangpu Stadium, Yuexiu Stadium, Guangdong People’s Stadium, Huagdong Stadium and Tianhe Stadium.
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