The Blue Tigers have been drawn in Group B, alongside Australia (January 13), Uzbekistan (January 18), and Syria (January 23). The top two teams from each group, along with the four best third-placed finishers (out of six) will make their way into the Round of 16
With this defeat, while India finished at the bottom of Group G, they also played spoilsport for hosts China PR, to beat India 2-1 in an earlier match. It was a do-or-die match for both sides; a win by two or more goals would guarantee UAE the top spot in Group G of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 20
A win for UAE will take them to the top of the group since they drew 1-1 in their first game against China PR, while India will have to win by a big margin to keep alive their hopes of qualifying as one of the top four second-placed teams in the competition.
The India U23 side has been hard at work ever since arriving at the Dalian Sports Centre four days ago for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers, even though their scheduled opening match against the Maldives was cancelled at the last moment, leaving them to adjust themselves to the revised fixtu