KUALA LUMPUR:The draw for the preliminary and qualifying rounds of the Asian Cup was conducted in Beijing on Saturday with delegates from the Asian Football Confederation and Chinese football officials joining arms to launch the tournament.

China, hosts of the event in 2004, and Japan, reigning holders of the trophy, are automatic participants, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Iraq, Qatar and Uzbekistan seeded first.

Second-seeded nations comprise Kuwait, Thailand, Bahrain, Lebanon, Indonesia, Oman and Syria, with Jordan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Palestine, Yemen, Malaysia and Vietnam coming as third-seeded nations.

Asian Cup 2004
Preliminary round
Group A
Myanmar, Brunei, Maldives

Group B
Taipei, East Timor, Sri Lanka

Group C
Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Nepal

Group D
Hong Kong, Laos, Bangladesh

Group E
Pakistan, Singapore, Macau

Group F
Bhutan, Mongolia, Guam

Group G
India, North Korea

Qualifying round
Group A
Uzbekistan, Thailand, Tajikistan, winner D

Group B
Qatar, Kuwait, Palestine, winner E

Group C
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, winner F

Group D
Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, winner G

Group E
South Korea, Oman, Vietnam, winner C

Group F
Iraq, Bahrain, Malaysia, winner A

Group G
UAE, Syria, Turkmenistan, winner B

Lebanese-football.com