The draw for the final stage of the U-23 Asian Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia in January 2026, has been drawn. According to the results of the draw, the Uzbekistan Olympic team was placed in Group "C" of the tournament and will compete in this group against the teams of South Korea, Iran, and Lebanon. This result aroused great interest and enthusiasm among football fans of our country, as our team was surrounded by the strongest opponents.
Group "C" can easily be called the "death group" of the competition. The reason is that it has two giants of Asian football and one mysterious debutant team. Two of the five different champion teams in the history of the tournament - Uzbekistan and South Korea - will meet each other in this group.
Iran is also always considered a strong opponent, and Lebanon, as a team that reached the final stage for the first time, tries to make unexpected surprises. So, it's clear that each game in the group will be extremely intense and interesting.
South Korea
The South Korean Olympic team is one of the strongest and traditionally favored teams in Asia. They won the U-23 Asian Cup title in 2020 and were finalists in 2016.
The current generation is also full of high-level players - South Korea fights only for victory and championship in every competition. At the same time, at the Qatar-2024 tournament, the Koreans unexpectedly lost to Indonesia in the quarterfinals in a penalty shootout and withdrew from the competition.
This result showed that even grand teams can suffer sensational losses if they are not adequately prepared. Of course, South Korea will take the current tournament as seriously as possible and try to be the main contender for first place in the group.
Iran
The Iranian Olympic team has not yet achieved great success at the Asian Championship - their best result in this competition is the quarter-final stage (in 2016).
Iran failed to qualify for the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup; this time, they finished first in their qualifying group and returned to the final.
Iranian football is known for its fighting spirit and talented youth. Therefore, the Iranian team will again be a strong opponent in the group and will definitely face serious resistance against others for a playoff spot.
Lebanon
The Lebanese U-23 national team qualified for the final stage of the Asian Cup for the first time in history. The group stage will be a huge opportunity and at the same time a test for this team, which is making its debut after success in the qualifiers. Although Lebanon is slightly underrated in terms of experience and skill compared to other opponents in the group, no one should ignore them.
Often unexpected teams can show unexpected results in major tournaments - Lebanese youth are also determined to make such a sensation and snatch points from strong opponents. They strive to demonstrate a classic game against strong teams, mobilizing all their strength in every game.
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