Iran, Pakistan clash after 15 years in AFC U19

IRNA - Iran and Pakistan will clash on November 6 when the teams of the two nations will face each other after a lapse of 15 years, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said Friday.

Pakistan is being placed in tough Qualifying Group B of AFC U19 Youth Championship and besides Iran, will take on India (11 Nov) and Asian powerhouse Oman (9 Nov), Lebanon (14 Nov) and Bahrain (17 Nov), the PFF said in a statement.

The PFF President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat said the play with Iran will not be an easy task on their home territory.

"I hope our players will show their commitment and try their best to grab one of the two top berths for qualification in 16-team finals at Saudi Arabia 2008," said Faisal.

The top-two teams from each of the seven qualifying groups of AFC U19 Championship advance to the finals with the best third-placed team.

All the matches will be played in one centralized venue hosted by one country in the group.

The top-four finishers of AFC Youth Championship 2008 will advance to the 17th FIFA World Youth Championship 2009 in Egypt.

The groupings:
Group A: Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mongolia Group B: Pakistan, Iran, India, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon Group C: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Syria, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Bhutan
Group D: Jordan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Nepal, Palestine, Afghanistan Group E: Japan, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Maldives, Chinese Taipei Group F: DPR Korea, China, Malaysia, Macau, Singapore, Timor Leste
Group G: Korea Republic, Australia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Guam.