Under 22s land in Japan's Asian Cup Qualifying group

The AFC Under 22s draw for their Asian Cup qualifying campaign has been made and they have landed in Group E with Japan.

The Qantas Australian U-22s have been drawn in Group E, alongside Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Macau and Timor Leste for the inaugural AFC U-22 Asian Cup 2013 qualifiers which will be played from 23 June to 8 July at a venue to be determined.

The draw was made today at AFC House by the AFC-s Director of National Teams Competition Shin Man-gil.

FFA Technical Director Han Berger welcomed the results of the draw and the opportunity that a new competition like this one presents Australian football.

“It-s very exciting for us to be a part of this exciting new international competition in Asia.

“The next edition of this tournament will be even more important as it will serve as the qualifiers for the 2016 Brazil Olympic Games.

“This competition is another great opportunity for our players to get valuable experience in an international tournament against quality opposition,” concluded Berger.

AFC U-22 Asian Cup 2013 Qualifiers groups:

Group A: UAE, Iraq, Oman, India, Turkmenistan, Lebanon Group B: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka Group C: Bahrain, IR Iran, Tajikistan, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives Group D: Uzbekistan, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nepal Group E: Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Macau, Timor Leste Group F: DPR Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, China PR, Laos, Cambodia Group G: Korea Republic, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei, The Philippines