AFC Asian Cup 2023 draw: Hong Kong handed tough draw, will face 3-time winners Iran in group stage
- Jorn Andersen’s team drawn in Group C for tournament, will also face United Arab Emirates and Palestine
- China will take on the hosts and defending champions Qatar in Group A, as well as Tajikistan and Lebanon
Hong Kong will take on Iran at next year’s AFC Asian Cup after being grouped with the 2019 semi-finalists during the draw in Qatar on Thursday.
Head coach Jorn Andersen’s side will also face Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates, who Hong Kong will play in the first game in Group C on January 14 in The Khalifa International Stadium.
China face a tricky test against the hosts and defending champions Qatar in Group A, which also includes Lebanon and Tajikistan, who are making their debuts at the tournament, and will be China’s first opponents on January 13 at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
The hosts will get Asia’s most prestigious competition under way the day before against Lebanon at the 68,895-capacity Al Bayt Stadium.
Andersen said the draw, which took place at the at Katara Opera House in Doha, was “not the best, but not the worst either”.
“All the opponents will be very hard for us, so I think the draw was OK,” the Norwegian said. “We don’t have so much experience with these teams. I think they are little bit more physical, but I’m not unsatisfied. This is why you play in these tournaments, to test yourself against those types of teams.”
As part of their preparations for what lies ahead this year, Hong Kong will play friendlies against Vietnam and Thailand next month, and Andersen will be hoping for a better performance upfront that he witnessed in the draw with Singapore and defeat against Malaysia in March.
“We have to improve our attack and make more goals when we are dominating in games,” Andersen said. “We have this entire year to build the best team possible, but we need to be realistic, these are the best teams in Asia.”
Hong Kong have played in the tournament on three occasions in the past, hosting the inaugural finals in 1956 as well as playing in the event in 1964 and 1968.
But Asian football has changed a lot since then, and Andersen’s side at 147 in the world are ranked second lowest in the competition, ahead of only Indonesia who are two places lower.
“For Hong Kong it’s an experience to go to a big tournament again,” Andersen said. “In Qatar, where they played a World Cup with incredible stadiums, to play against good teams, strong teams, is a great motivation.
“We will try to surprise and get one or two good results. The dream would be to be number three in the group and maybe we can qualify, but that’s a dream. We don’t think about that. We think about preparing well and maybe having good results. That’s our first step.”
The other four groups have also thrown up some interesting contests, with Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria and India all drawn in Group B, while Japan, Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam will clash in Group D.
South Korea, Malaysia, Jordan and Bahrain make up Group E, with Saudi Arabia expecting to progress from Group F, where they will take on Thailand, the Kyrgyz Republic and Oman.
Andersen, meanwhile, believes being involved in the tournament is important for the game in the city as a whole.
“I think it’s important for Hong Kong football,” he said. “People will be more interested, the government will see how important it is to play in a competition like this. It’s a very big tournament and if the Hong Kong people can see that then the support will improve.
“We have to get the big sponsors to back us and maybe this will be the way to get more interest in football in Hong Kong.”
AFC Asian Cup 2023 draw:
Group A: Qatar, China, Tajikistan, Lebanon
Group B: Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, India
Group C: Iran, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Palestine
Group D: Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, Vietnam
Group E: South Korea, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain
Group F: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyz Republic, Oman
