Iran learns opponents in 2016 AFC U-19 Championship

Iran’s national soccer team has been drawn in Group C of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Championship, which is scheduled to be staged in Bahrain between mid- and late-October this year.

During the drawing ceremony in the Bahraini capital city of Manama on Saturday, the Islamic Republic of Iran was drawn in Group C of the group stage of the forthcoming sports event, and was pitted against defending champion Qatar, Asian powerhouse Japan and Yemen.

The hosts were drawn in Group A, and joined 2012 champion South Korea as well as Saudi Arabia.

Group B constitutes of 2014 runner-up North Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Vietnam. Australia, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan form Group D.

The 2016 AFC U-19 Championship, which will be the 39th edition of the tournament, is slated to be held between October 13 and 30 in Bahrain. The championship acts as the AFC qualifier for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea, with the top four teams qualifying.

Since South Korea has already qualified automatically as the AFC U-19 Championship host, the fifth-placed team will also qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup if the South Korean team finishes in the top four.

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