Bangladesh get tough draw

Bangladesh have been placed with Syria, Uzbekistan and India in Group E of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers, to be held in Dhaka from March 27 to 31 next year.

A total of 43 nations, split into the ten groups, will be playing the round-robin first round at ten different venues, with the winners of each group and five best runners-up advancing into the 16-team finals in Qatar in January 2016.

With the presence of Syria, who never lost to Bangladesh in their three previous meeting at senior level, and Uzbekistan, who recently handed a 3-0 defeat to Bangladesh Olympic team in the Asian Games, it will be difficult for the home side to top the group. The only realistic chance for Bangladesh is to finish second in their group and hope for the best.

Bangladesh will play Syria, Uzbekistan and India on March 27, 29 and 31 respectively.

The AFC U-23 Championship 2016 will also serve as the Olympic Qualifiers in every alternative edition, with the top three teams from the 2016 edition representing Asia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.