Bin Hammam: Asian Cup draw 'unique'

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Mohammed Bin Hammam has called the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ draw “unique”.

“It is a very interesting and unique draw. All the groups are very well and finely balanced," Bin Hammam said after Friday's draw ceremony at the Aspire Dome.

The AFC president further pointed out that none of the Asian teams is guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage.

“In fact it looks like none of the teams is guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage. They will all have to work hard for it,” he added.

“I am absolutely convinced that the competition will be intense and of a very high quality because AFC's Member Associations are doing a lot of developmental work for their national teams,” he further explained.

According to Bin Hammam, Iraq's win in 2007 has reshaped Asian football.

“No longer can the traditional powers of the East or West take their places for granted," he noted. “The new teams are ambitious and hungry for success. And all this means well for the fans.”

Draw for 2011 Asian Cup:

Group A: Qatar, Kuwait, China, Uzbekistan

Group B: Saudi Arabia, Japan, Jordan, Syria

Group C: South Korea, India, Australia, Bahrain

Group D: Iraq, North Korea, UAE, Iran

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124238§ionid=3510211.