Today, the Asian Football Confederation announced the adoption of the official classification for the draw for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Finals, scheduled to be held next Saturday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where the qualified teams were distributed into four levels according to the latest approved classification.
The Qatari team came in the second level with the teams of Iraq, Jordan, the Emirates, Oman, and Syria, while the first level included the Saudi national team, the host of the tournament, along with Japan, Iran, South Korea, Australia, and Uzbekistan.
The third level included the teams of Bahrain, Thailand, China, Palestine, Vietnam, and Tajikistan, while the fourth level included the teams of Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Singapore, along with the winner of the Lebanon and Yemen playoffs.
The draw is scheduled to determine the course of the group stage matches of the continental championship, which Saudi Arabia is hosting for the first time, amid expectations of strong competition in light of the similar technical levels of the participating teams, especially with the presence of prominent teams at more than one level, which may result in strong early confrontations in the group stage.
Saudi Arabia will host the finals of the next edition of the tournament during the period from January 7 to February 5, 2027, with the participation of 24 teams in three cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Khobar.