South Korea to face Saudi Arabia, Qatar in Asian Games men's football

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- The three-time defending champions South Korea will face Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Asian Games men's football tournament this fall.

The draw for the football competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games took place in Nagoya, Japan, on Thursday. With 15 teams drawn into three groups of four and one group of three, South Korea ended up in Group D with only two other opponents.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals, and teams in Group D will play one fewer match than those in the three other groups.

Coached by Lee Min-sung, South Korea will try to win their fourth consecutive gold medal.

The Asian Games men's football event is an under-23 competition, but teams are each allowed to carry up to three players over the age limit.

Lee unveiled his 23-man squad on July 9, featuring four players who were on South Korea's FIFA World Cup squad in June -- including all three over-23 players in Celtic FC midfielder Yang Hyun-jun (24), Swansea City midfielder Eom Ji-sung (24) and Gangwon FC defender Lee Gi-hyuk (26).

Japan, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Hong Kong will play in Group A. Group B teams are China, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and North Korea. Vietnam, Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Kuwait will compete in Group C.