QUOTE
http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewAr..._164692021.html
Our route to the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar has started to take shape with an AFC announcement last night with the first round draw being determined on the 17th of December. I'm unsure as to how these games, particularly round 2, will fit around the 2010 WC qualifications however apparently the match schedule is to be released before the draw. Hopefully it is complementary giving some of the Asian sides that make it to South Africa more competitive game time prior to the event as opposed to relying upon friendlies.
The seedings are: 1 Iraq; 2 Saudi Arabia; 3 Korea Republic; 4 Japan; 5 Australia; 6 Iran; 7 Uzbekistan; 8 Vietnam; 9 China; 10 Thailand; 11 Indonesia; 12 UAE; 13 Bahrain; 14 Oman; 15 Malaysia; 16 Jordan; 17 Syria; 18 Hong Kong; 19 Yemen; 20 Kuwait; 21 Singapore; 22 India; 23 Lebanon; 24 North Korea; 25 Myanmar; 26 Maldives; 27 Turkmenistan.
Qualification shall take place over two rounds. In Round One, the eight teams ranked 20-27 will be paired by Monday's draw. In Round Two, four teams from Round One shall join the 16 teams ranked 4-19, which includes Australia.
These 20 teams shall be divided in to five groups of four with the top two teams from each group will qualify for the tournament proper in 2011.
The 10 qualifiers from Round 2 shall join the top three seeds - who are the top three finishers at the 2007 Asian Cup - Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Korea Republic and hosts Qatar.
Add to that the winners of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and 2010, bringing the total number of participating teams to 16.
Our route to the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar has started to take shape with an AFC announcement last night with the first round draw being determined on the 17th of December. I'm unsure as to how these games, particularly round 2, will fit around the 2010 WC qualifications however apparently the match schedule is to be released before the draw. Hopefully it is complementary giving some of the Asian sides that make it to South Africa more competitive game time prior to the event as opposed to relying upon friendlies.
The seedings are: 1 Iraq; 2 Saudi Arabia; 3 Korea Republic; 4 Japan; 5 Australia; 6 Iran; 7 Uzbekistan; 8 Vietnam; 9 China; 10 Thailand; 11 Indonesia; 12 UAE; 13 Bahrain; 14 Oman; 15 Malaysia; 16 Jordan; 17 Syria; 18 Hong Kong; 19 Yemen; 20 Kuwait; 21 Singapore; 22 India; 23 Lebanon; 24 North Korea; 25 Myanmar; 26 Maldives; 27 Turkmenistan.
Qualification shall take place over two rounds. In Round One, the eight teams ranked 20-27 will be paired by Monday's draw. In Round Two, four teams from Round One shall join the 16 teams ranked 4-19, which includes Australia.
These 20 teams shall be divided in to five groups of four with the top two teams from each group will qualify for the tournament proper in 2011.
The 10 qualifiers from Round 2 shall join the top three seeds - who are the top three finishers at the 2007 Asian Cup - Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Korea Republic and hosts Qatar.
Add to that the winners of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and 2010, bringing the total number of participating teams to 16.
