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The stage is set for Asia’s future stars to shine when the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup – Uzbekistan Qualifiers kick off on Saturday in centralised venues.
With the excitement building up, 39 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Member Associations (MAs) will be vying for 15 available spots to join host Uzbekistan at the keenly anticipated AFC U-23 Asian Cup in 2022, which will be staged in the Central Zone for the first time in Asian football history.
The action starts in Group K between Cambodia and Hong Kong, with both MAs seeking to qualify for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Finals for the first time, at the J-Village (Futaba-Gun) in Japan at 1pm (local time).
Group E will commence on Sunday when host United Arab Emirates take on the Kyrgyz Republic at the Fujairah Stadium at 4:50pm while Oman and India go head-to-head at the same venue at 8:30pm.
Asia’s fans will be treated to an exciting line-up of matches on October 25 starting with Group A when host Qatar, who finished third in 2018, face Yemen at the Khalifa International Stadium at 6pm before Syria take on Sri Lanka two hours later at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium.
In Group B, 2016 quarterfinalists the Iran will begin their campaign against Nepal at the Republican Central Stadium in Dushanbe at 4pm while host Tajikistan face Lebanon at the same venue at 7pm.
Iraq, the 2013 champions, will play Maldives in their Group C opener followed by Bahrain hosting Afghanistan. Both matches will be played at 4:15pm and 7:15pm respectively at the Sheikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium.
Meanwhile in Group D, Bangladesh, also seeking a first appearance in the Finals, will play Kuwait at the JAR Stadium in Tashkent at 12 pm.
The 2022 host Uzbekistan, whose results will not be accounted for in the Qualifiers, will begin their preparations for the Finals against 2020 runners-up Saudi Arabia at the Pakhtakor Stadium in Tashkent at 3pm.
Jordan will host the Group F matches when they face Turkmenistan at the King Abdullah II Stadium at 7pm in the three-team group which includes Palestine.
The reigning champions South Korea are in action against the Philippines at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore at 5pm while centralised host Singapore face Timor-Leste at the same venue three hours later in Group H.
In Group J, 2020 quarterfinalists Thailand take on Mongolia, who will host the group at the MFF Stadium, at 11 am before the Southeast Asian encounter between Malaysia and Laos at 3pm.
Following the withdrawals of China and Brunei Darussalam, Group G will consist of Indonesia and Australia who will play each other twice with the first encounter on October 26 at the Republic Central Stadium in Dushanbe, Tajikistan at 5pm.
The three-team Group I will join the action on October 27 when 2018 runners-up Vietnam face Chinese Taipei at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic at 1pm while Myanmar play Chinese Taipei three days later.
