Team Melli was drawn in group C alongside 3 ot it Persian Gulf neighbors, Bahrain , Qatar and UAE.  Iran has never lost an AFC Asian Cup match against the 3 teams before.

In the draw held at the Sydney Opera House, it was mixed fortunes for the host team Australia (Socceroos), who were drawn to meet the Kuwaitis, Oman and the highly credentialed South Korea in Group A.

Following their clash against Kuwait at AAMI Park, the Socceroos meet Oman at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on January 13.

The Socceroos then face the toughest test of their Group A campaign when they host the South Koreans at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on January 17.

The Defending Asian Cup champions Japan are in Group D with Jordan, Iraq and the winner of this year’s AFC Challenge Cup, being held in May in the Maldives.

Joining the Maldives in the tournament are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Palestine, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and Turkmenistan.

Group A: Kuwait, Oman, South Korea and Australia.

Group B: North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

Group C: Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Iran.

Group D: 2014 AFC Challenge Cup winner, Iraq, Jordan and Japan.

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Coaches reaction

Group C – Iraq, UAE, Qatar & Bahrain

	Iran Coach Carlos Queiroz: Football is all about pressure, and pressure to win the next game.I’m sure that after the World Cup the team can have a lift with the preparation and the experience, they will be more strong when they start the Asian competition.
	UAE Coach Mahdi Ali: I did not wish to have three [Gulf Cup] nations in the same group to give more chances for them to qualify. A small competition reflecting the big one in Asia. We have already announced we want to be in the best four teams in Asia and I hope we achieve our goal. We wish to qualify to the semi final. I think that the UAE have spent a lot of planning for this generation, I think we have a good generation who have played many tournaments.
	Qatar Coach Djamel Belmadi: We don’t have any limits; we are here to win the tournament simple as that.I hope we will be strong enough and good enough and believe in ourselves to go as far as possible.
	Bahrain Coach Anthony Hudson: We’re going to quietly do what we’re doing. We’re building our team. We’re going to be optimistic and [try] to cause an upset and do something special.We’re not going to scream and shout too loud but we’re going to work hard and prepare. We’ve certainly come here to go very far. I think it’s a good group and I think we’ve missed two or three of the big teams were familiar with. We’re happy.

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