Redraw for Asian Games soccer tournament set for Wednesday

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A fresh draw for the men's soccer tournament at this year's Asian Games will be held on Wednesday after two countries were left out of the first one earlier this month, an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) spokeswoman said.

The new draw will take place on Wednesday afternoon at the headquarters of the AFC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In the first draw held on July 5, China ended up in Group C with Iraq, Syria and Timor Leste. There were six groups of four nations with the top two nations from those six groups, plus the four best third-placed teams, set to reach the round of 16.

But the AFC ordered Indonesian organizers to conduct a redraw after learning that the United Arab Emirates and Palestine were not included in the original draw.

Their inclusion in Wednesday's draw will raise the number of participating countries to 26. Four groups will have four teams each while two other groups will have five teams each.

The participating nations can each field only three players above the age of 23. Group matches in soccer are scheduled to begin a few days ahead of the official start of the Asian Games, which will run from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2.

(With input from agencies)