Thailand entered the easy group in the Asian Cup qualifiers

 Thailand entered the easy group in the Asian Cup qualifiers

Team Thailand and host group Uzbekistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka in the final qualifying round of the 2023 Asian Cup.

Thailand is the defending champion of Southeast Asia after winning the AFF Cup 2020. Photo: Changsuek

Thailand is the defending champion of Southeast Asia after winning the AFF Cup 2020. Photo: Changsuek

Thailand entered the easiest table in the draw on the afternoon of February 24. The Southeast Asian champions are in Group C, with the team with the highest FIFA ranking in the round, Uzbekistan (85). But the remaining two opponents Maldives and Sri Lanka are both in the lowest order in their seed group. Maldives ranked 157th FIFA, 45 places less than Thailand. Sri Lanka is even outside the top 200. These group matches are hosted by Uzbekistan.

The Philippines - the remaining representative of Southeast Asia standing in group two - has a not-so-simple draw result. They are in Group B with Palestine, Yemen and Mongolia. Palestine is said to be the strongest team in the group. In the last two meetings with Yemen, the Philippines drew. And Mongolia is the host of the table.

Indonesia is in group three, falling into Group A with two West Asian teams Jordan and Kuwait, the other opponent is Nepal. The last time they met Jordan, Indonesia lost 1-4 in a friendly match in June 2019. They also drew one and lost one of the last two matches against Kuwait in November 2009.

Split the final qualifying round of the Asian Cup 2023. Photo: AFC

Split the final qualifying round of the Asian Cup 2023. Photo: AFC

Malaysia also meets two stronger opponents in Group E, Bahrain and Turkmenistan. In the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, Turkmenistan won against Lebanon - the team that is in the final qualifying round of the World Cup. And Bahrain has the second highest FIFA ranking in this round, just behind Uzbekistan.

In Group D, Cambodia is in group four, along with India, Hong Kong and Afghanistan. The two remaining representatives in Southeast Asia Myanmar and Singapore are in the same group F with two stronger opponents, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Teams will play in a round-robin round in early June 2022. The top six teams in each group and five high-performing second teams will advance to the 2023 Asian Cup Finals. Vietnam does not have to play in this qualifying round, as it has entered the finals directly thanks to its performance in the second stage of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.