Korea Republic U-23 men’s national team have been pitted against a trio of Southeast Asian sides in Group C of the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, which is scheduled to kick off in Uzbekistan in June.

Ahead of the official draw for the group stage of the continental finals that was staged in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Thursday, four teams were seeded in Pot 1 according to the results in the previous edition in 2020: defending champions Korea Republic, host nation Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Australia that finished runners-up and third respectively.

Following the draw, Korea Republic have been pitted against Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia in Group C. This is the first time for the Taegeuk Warriors to compete with three Southeast Asian sides in the group stage of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

A total of 16 teams will participate in the continental finals: the 11 group winners from the preliminary competition last year (Korea Republic, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE and Jordan), as well as the four runners-up with best results (Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) will join host country Uzbekistan.

Established in 2014, the AFC U-23 Asian Cup is a biannual competition that also acts as the Asian qualifiers for the Olympic Football Tournament in the year of the Olympics. Therefore, there is no Olympic tickets at stake in this year’s competition, with the next edition to be the final qualifying round for Paris 2024.

Under coach Hwang Sunhong’s guidance, the U-23 national team won Group H in the preliminary competition for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup that was staged in Singapore last October. Hwang then set up a series of training camps in Gyeongju and Seogwipo to strengthen the organisation and test his players. Hwang’s charges are set to take part in the U-23 finals in June, before participating in the Asian Games that takes place in Hangzhou, China in September.

Meanwhile, Korea Republic have recorded 15 wins, three draws and six defeats in 24 matches in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup – including the AFC U-23 Championship in the past. They finished fourth in the inaugural tournament under the guidance of late Lee Gwangjong in 2014, before Shin Taeyong’s side finished runners-up in 2016. Kim Bonggil’s charges narrowly missed the podium in 2018, but Kim Hagbum led his side to their maiden victory with six straight wins in 2020.

Official Draw for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2022

Group A – Uzbekistan, Iran, Qatar, Turkmenistan

Group B – Australia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait

Group C – Korea Republic, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia

Group D – Saudi Arabia, UAE, Japan, Tajikistan