Iran handed easy group at Paris 2024 Asian Qualifiers Round 1

Round 1 of the Asian Qualifiers will be divided into five groups of four and two groups of three, with teams competing in a one-round league format in a centralized venue from April 3 to 11.

According to the Tehran Times report, the hosts for the groups will be announced in due course.

The draw saw Uzbekistan, Jordan, Timor-Leste and Bhutan drawn in Group A while Myanmar, Iran, Bangladesh and Maldives will battle in Group B.

Group C has Vietnam, Nepal, Palestine and Afghanistan with Thailand, Mongolia, Singapore and Sri Lanka in Group D.

Philippines, Hong Kong, Tajikistan and Pakistan are the sides in Group E with Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Lebanon set to vie for the sole automatic spot into the next round in Group F. Group G will see India, Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan facing off.

The winners of each group will advance to Round 2 where they will be joined by the five highest seeded teams – DPR Korea, Japan, Australia, China PR and Korea Republic.

Australia finished fourth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while Japan were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Sweden. China’s campaign ended in the group stage.

Four teams from Round 2 – the three group winners and the best-ranked runners-up – will then face off in Round 3 where they will play two pairs of home and away matches with the eventual winners qualifying for the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.