The South Korean Olympic team’s goal to qualify for its 10th consecutive Olympic Games is clear. They must finish in the top three at the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar.
Federation Internationale de Football Association held the draw for the men’s and women’s soccer groups at the headquarters of the Paris Organizing Committee for the 2024 Olympic Games in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, France, on Wednesday. Sixteen countries will compete in men’s soccer at the Paris Games. The draw was made for all AFC member nations (up to four) that have not yet played an Olympic qualifying tournament. The 16 teams will be divided into four groups, with the first- and second-place finishers in each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
The draw pitted hosts France, the United States, New Zealand, and the winners of the Asia-Africa playoffs in Group A, and Argentina, Morocco, Ukraine, and the top three Asian finalists in Group B. Spain, Egypt, the Dominican Republic, and the second-place Asian qualifiers are in Group C, 바카라사이트 while Paraguay, Mali, Israel, and the first-place Asian qualifiers are in Group D.
Should South Korea qualify
They will be drawn in either Group C or D, avoiding powerhouses like France and Argentina. According to FIFA, the qualifying teams from Asia are ranked based on their performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Based on FIFA’s criteria, the first-place AFC will be drawn into Group D, while the second-place AFC will be drawn into Group C. The third-place finisher will be in Group B. At the Tokyo Olympics, hosts Japan performed best, reaching the semifinals, followed by South Korea in the quarterfinals. Teammates Australia (1-2) and Saudi Arabia (3) were eliminated in the group stage. If South Korea advances to the knockout stage alongside Japan, they will be in Group C. On the other hand, if Japan is eliminated and South Korea advances, South Korea will be in Group D.
However, if South Korea finishes fourth and qualifies after a playoff, they will be in Group A regardless of the outcome of the Tokyo Olympics. There’s a reason why Group A is the worst-case scenario. According to Le Parisien, France’s Olympic coach Thierry Henry wants to use Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, and Antoine Griezmann as wild cards. Mbappe is a favorite to make the squad, having expressed his desire to play in Paris early on. With Giroud and Griezmann at the center of France’s squad, Henri hopes to go as close to gold as possible.
This makes the U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar in April crucial, as it will serve as a qualifier for the Paris Olympics.
The first through third-placed teams at the U-23 Asian Cup will qualify directly to the main event, while the fourth-placed team will face the fourth-placed team in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) qualifiers, Guinea, 사설 토토사이트 in a continental playoff to secure a ticket to the main event. South Korea, which holds the world record for most consecutive Olympic appearances (nine), will be looking to qualify for its 10th consecutive Olympic Games since the 1988 Seoul Games.