Asia

Draw for 2018 Asian Games men’s football announced

The draw was held in Jakarta, the host of the 2018 Asian Games, on Thursday.

The Asian Games’ men’s group stage will begin on August 14, with the gold medal match scheduled for September 1.

There are six groups of four nations in the men’s tournament. The top two nations from those six groups and the four best third-seeded teams will reach the round of 16.

Hosts Indonesia have been draw with Hong Kong, Laos and Chinese Taipei in Group A.

Group B has Thailand, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, and Qatar, while Group C will see Iraq, China PR, Timor-Leste and Syria face off.

Vietnam will take on Japan, Pakistan and Nepal to begin their men’s football campaign at this year’s Asian Games.

2014 silver medallists DPR Korea will face Saudi Arabia, Islamic Republic of Iran and Myanmar in Group F.

South Korea will play Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia and Bahrain to begin their men’s football title defense.