The Peninsula
Qatar, the 1981 runners-up, will take on football powerhouses Nigeria, the US and Ukraine in the group stages of the U-20 FIFA World Cup in Poland this summer.
Apart from Qatar, Asia’s other top teams also learnt their contenders following the official draw at the Gydnia Arena in Poland on Sunday. Saudi Arabia, the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship winners, were drawn in Group E with France, Mali and Panama.
Japan, defeated 2-1 by Saudi Arabia in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship final, will play in Group B with the 1999 runners-up having Mexico, Italy and Ecuador for company.
Korea Republic were drawn in Group F with six-time champions Argentina, twice winners Portugal and South Africa, while 1981 runners-up Qatar, will play in Group D with Nigeria, Ukraine and USA.
Qatar also featured at the 2015 edition held in New Zealand under coach Felix Sanchez who helped the senior side win the Asian Cup earlier this month.
The draw on Sunday saw the 24 teams divided into four pots of six teams based on a ranking built on past sporting performance.
Host Poland were placed in Pot 1 along with Portugal, Uruguay, France, USA and Mexico while Pot 2 had Mali, Nigeria, New Zealand, Colombia, Korea Republic and Italy.
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Argentina, Ecuador, Ukraine and Honduras were in Pot 3 while Japan, South Africa, Panama, Norway, Qatar and Tahiti were in Pot 4.
The FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019 will be played across six venues on May 23 to June 15. England, champions in 2017, and five-time winners Brazil both did not qualify.