Thailand could not have chosen a harder opponent than defending champions Japan following the draw for the AFC Under-23 Championship 2018 that was held yesterday in China.
Others in Group B alongside Thailand and Japan are DPR Korea and Palestine.
ASEAN neighbours Malaysia have also been drawn in a tough Group C against Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia while Australia and Vietnam will battle against South Korea and Syria in Group D.
The AFC U23 Championship is second only to the AFC Asian Cup among Asiaâs menâs national team competitions, with the 2018 edition the first time it will be held in the worldâs most populous country.
âWeâve obviously got a long history against Korea Republic, and recently weâve had two very intense matches with our senior team against Syria, so itâs interesting and you always know when you come to a tournament like this that there are just no easy games in Asia, so weâre really looking forward to it. (The Australian league season) means we will have minimal preparation and the players will remain with their clubs and we will look to focus on our Australian-based players. The preparation won’t be lengthy but we have the added bonus that our players should be playing (in the league) and be in good condition.â –Â Luke Casserly, Head of National Teams, Australia
 âFor us, its our first time to qualify and I think to be in that group with the three Middle East countries is an advantage for them â Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. I think itâs a good experience for us. I believe that if we prepare well, we have an equal chance among the four teams. The tournament will have a different kind of intensity, and (our players) must understand that when they come to this level, they must be very, very consistent – and of course, thereâs a lot of opportunities if they can do well at this tournament, and I believe it will be a stepping stone for Malaysian players to play abroad.” – Ong Kim Swee, head coach Malaysia
