Group B Round up.
Ahead of the start of the AFC U23 Championships on January the 11, QSL online has decided to have a look at the teams in each individual group. The tournament, which is the second most important men’s tournament for the AFC will be highlighting the best young Asian talent. The top three sides from this tournament will qualify for the Olympic Games tournament, being held in Rio.

Today we are looking at Group B which features Saudi Arabia, Japan, DPR Korea and Thailand.
 
Inaugural runners-up Saudi Arabia will look to go one better at the AFC U23 Championship in Qatar and avenge their defeat at the hands of Iraq in the 2014 final.
 
Two years ago in Oman in the then AFC U-22 Championship, Saudi Arabia lost their opener 3-1 to the eventual winners before bouncing back to beat China 2-1 and Uzbekistan 1-0 to advance to the quarter-finals as Group D runners-up.
 
Quick-fire goals either side of the hour mark against Australia in the last eight saw Saudi Arabia hold on to claim a 2-1 victory before the West Asians recorded a 3-2 win over Jordan in the semi-final to secure their place in the final. However Iraq proved too strong for Saudi and claimed a 1-0 win in the tournament climax to claim the inaugural title.
 
Saudi Arabia has twice appeared at the Olympic Games on their debut in Los Angeles in 1984, Saudi Arabia lost all three games to Brazil, Morocco and Germany. On their second visit in 1996 they didn’t fare much better losing all three matches to Spain, Australia and France.
 
Japan will be look to improve on their quarter-final exit at the inaugural edition of the AFC U23 Championship in Oman two years ago having narrowly missed out on a second medal at the Olympic Games at London 2012.
 
Two years ago at the then AFC U-22 Championship in Oman, Japan played out a 3-3 draw with Iran in their Group C opener before a goalless draw against Kuwait and a 4-0 win over Australia secured their place in the knockout stage.
 
But Japan’s continental campaign was ended in the quarter-finals as eventual winners Iraq struck late to claim a 1-0 win.
 
The East Asians have appeared at five consecutive Olympic Games and claimed Asia’s first ever medal in 1968 tournament in Mexico, defeating the hosts in a  bronze medal play-off. Japan also reached the same stage four years ago in 2012 London tournament only to lose to Korea Republic.


 
DPR Korea head into the AFC U23 Championship in Qatar looking to make amends for their group stage elimination at the inaugural edition of the tournament two years ago. In the then AFC U-22 Championship in 2014, DPR Korea produced a strong start to their Group B campaign with a 3-1 win over Yemen as they moved to the top of the table.
 
But the East Asians then lost 1-0 to Syria in their second group outing, leaving DPK Korea requiring a win against the United Arab Emirates to guarantee their progression to the knockout stage. A goalless draw against the West Asians meant it was a disappointing end to the continental campaign for DPR Korea as they exited the tournament.
 
DPR Korea has only ever made one appearance at the Olympic Games after qualifying for the 1976 event in Montreal, Canada.  In 1976, DPR Korea reached the quarter-finals after beating Canada 3-1 in Toronto before losing 3-0 to the Soviet Union and then suffering a 5-0 defeat by Poland in the quarterfinals.  
 
Thailand secured an AFC U23 Championship debut as the best-placed runner-up from a qualifying group that also included DPR Korea. Thailand failed to make the then AFC U-22 Championship in Oman two years ago after losing in the qualifiers.
 
The war elephants have twice appeared at the Olympic Games. Firstly in 1956 in Melbourne, losing 9-0 to Great Britain in the first round along with the 1968 games in Mexico City in 1968, where they lost all three games to Bulgaria, Guatemala and Czechoslovakia.
 
Thailand, though, have been more successful at a regional level and claimed a sixth Southeast Asian Games gold medal in Singapore in 2015 after beating Myanmar 3-0 in the final to complete a 100% tournament record with a seventh consecutive win.
 
They also reached the semi-finals at the 2014 Asian Games, but after losing 2-0 to eventual champions Korea Republic, Thailand suffered a 1-0 defeat by Iraq in the bronze medal play-off.

Tickets for all the matches are available online from the Qatar Football Association website: www.qfa.qa. Whilst you can also buy tickets from both Landmark & Villagio malls from 4pm to 10pm daily, furthermore fans will be able to buy tickets on match days at the tournament stadiums.

Ticket categories and prices:

Category	Opening Match	Group Stage	Quarter-finals	Semi-finals	Final
VIP	QR 100	QR 50	QR 50	QR 50	QR 100
CAT 1	QR 50	QR 30	QR 30	QR 30	QR 50
CAT 2	QR 30	QR 10	QR 10	QR 10	QR 30
Children	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free
Disabled	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free

 

To buy tickets, go to www.qfa.qa

For further details about the tournament, including the match schedule, log on to: http://www.the-afc.com/competition/afc-u23-championship.