2011 AFC Asian Cup Draw In

The 2011 AFC Asian Cup draw has finally been revealed, and what a wait Asian football fans have until the tournament's kickoff in just under 12 months' time. The draw was held on Friday evening in the Qatar capital, Doha. Mostly, a minimal amount of formal and cultural fuss was made of the event, and fans were quickly into finding out with which nations their team would do battle.

For Australian football fans, many who I am sure sacrificed sleep for the draw, the internet provided the sole means through which to keep up to date in real time. Disappointingly, Australia's usually reliable Fox Sports network which broadcast the 2007 Asian Cup draw, failed to do so this time around. I put the decision down to the late timing of the broadcast (2.00 AM on the Australian East Coast) and hopefully not a diminishing interest in the Asian Cup.

The groups for the tournament are as follows:

Group A

Qatar
Kuwait
Uzbekistan
China PR

Analysis: Uzbekistan and China PR face off in the group stages for a second straight Asian Cup. In the 2007 edition, Uzbekistan scored three second-half goals to advance to the knockout stages at the expense of the ever-ambitious Chinese. Host nation Qatar will be out to impress the home faithful and avenge a disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign. Tiny Kuwait, which has a remarkable football pedigree including winning the 1980 Asian Cup, overcame Oman to qualify for its first Asian Cup since 2004. I expect Qatar to advance on home soil with Uzbekistan also qualifying for the knockout stages.

Group B

Saudi Arabia
Syria
Jordan
Japan

Analysis: Traditional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Japan are the favourites to progress. Syria will enjoy their first Asian Cup since 1996 whilst Jordan will be looking to repeat its quarter final appearance at the 2004 Asian Cup in China. Jordan's qualifying campaign was punctuated by a 1-0 victory over Iran. Look for Saudi Arabia to try and avenge its heartbreaking World Cup playoff exit at the hands of Bahrain.

Group C

Korea Republic
India
Bahrain
Australia

Analysis: An interesting group featuring nations from different parts of the region. India feature at an Asian Cup for the first time since 1984, and indeed its tournament may be short lived as it looks decidedly out of its depth in a formidable group featuring two World Cup qualifiers, and Bahrain, which failed to reach the World Cup via a continental playoff. Australia will resume battle with a familiar Bahrain, with Australia winning its World Cup qualifier encounters 1-0 and 2-0. Korea Republic dismantled a decidedly understrength Australian outfit 3-1 in Seoul last year, however the Australians will have learnt a great deal about how to contain the Koreans from the match. Australia will be desperately hoping to avenge its flop debut at the Asian Cup, and I expect the Green and Gold to advance with a slick Korea Republic outfit.

Group D

Iraq
UAE
DPR Korea
IR Iran

Analysis: Defending champions Iraq face a tough group featuring surprise World Cup qualifiers DPR Korea, and old foe Iran. Perennial stars Younis Mahmoud and FC Twente midfielder Nashat Akram are key to the nation's hopes. DPR Korea qualified for this Asian Cup having beaten Turkmenistan in the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup. This well-drilled outfit featuring J. League stars Chong Tese and Ryang Yong-Gi will prove a stern test for any opposition. Iran and UAE's most recent international fortunes have been mixed, with both nations finishing fourth (second last) and fifth (last) respectively in the final stage of qualification. This will be an intriguing group, and I'm afraid too difficult to predict at this stage.

The official Asian Cup website can be found here.