Australia learn Asian Cup draw

Asian Cup: Top prize

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Australia have been drawn alongside Kuwait, Indonesia and Oman in qualifying for the 2011 Asian Cup.

A total of 20 teams have been divided into five groups of four, with qualification taking place between 14th January 2009 and 3rd March 2010.

The top two teams from each group qualify automatically for the final and Australia should be confident of securing a place in Qatar, possibly alongside 1980 champions Kuwait.

Iraq are the current title holders, guaranteeing their place at the competition, while 2007 runners-up Saudi Arabia, third-place finishers South Korea, and hosts Qatar have also qualified automatically.

Surprises

The remaining two slots will be taken by the winners of the AFC Challenge Cup tournaments in 2008 and 2010.

"It's a very challenging draw," said Australia manager Gary Moretti.

"There could be surprises."

Iran coach Ali Daei, who is preparing for qualifying fixtures against Thailand, Jordan and Singapore, is also expecting a tough route to the finals.

"There are no easy games these days," he said.

"We treat all games as important."

Asian Cup qualifying groups in full:

Group A: Japan, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Yemen.

Group B: Australia, Indonesia, Oman, Kuwait

Group C: Uzbekistan, UAE, Malaysia, India

Group D: Vietnam, China, Syria, Lebanon

Group E: Iran, Thailand, Jordan, Singapore