Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The AFC has confirmed the classification of teams and the draw mechanism for the AFC U-19 Championship 2012. The draw takes place on May 13 in the host city of Dubai, UAE.
The 16 finalists have been classified on the basis of the final rankings of the AFC U-19 Championship 2010 and allotted four pots of four teams each.
As the hosts, the UAE will be ranked No 1 and drawn into position A1. There will be four pots for the countries, who will be positioned as per the current rankings. Pot 1 will comprise host UAE, DPR Korea, Australia and Korea Republic. Saudi Arabia, Japan, Uzbekistan and China will be featured in Pot 2 while Syria, Iran, Vietnam and Thailand will make it into Pot 3. Qatar is in Pot 4 alongside with Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait.
The top two teams from each group (eight teams in total) will qualify for the knockout stage (quarterfinals). The four winners of the quarterfinals will play in the semifinals and the winner advance to the final.
Allocation of teams
| **Pot 1** | **Pot 2** | **Pot 3** | **Pot 4** |
| UAE (Host) | Saudi Arabia | Syria | Jordan |
| DPR Korea | Japan | IR Iran | Iraq |
| Australia | Uzbekistan | Vietnam | Qatar |
| Korea Republic | China | Thailand | Kuwait |
Ranking
| 1. UAE (Host) | 9. Syria |
| 2. DPR Korea | 10. IR Iran |
| 3. Australia | 11. Vietnam |
| 4. Korea Republic | 12. Thailand |
| 5. Saudi Arabia | 13. Jordan |
| 6. Japan | 14. Iraq |
| 7. Uzbekistan | 15. Qatar |
| 8. China | 16. Kuwait |