The official draw for the tournament took place in Changzhou in China last night.

Australian U-23 Men’s National Team Head Coach, Josep Gombau, said the championship will be key for the team's development.

“Next year’s tournament in China represents a fantastic development opportunity for our players who are aspiring to become the next generation of Caltex Socceroos,” Gombau said.

“All 16 teams in the tournament deserve to be there, so all of the groups will be tough, and that certainly goes for ours, too.

“We will go to China with the ambition to win the competition, but also to expose our players to international football at a high level."

The AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 will be held from 8 -27 January.

GROUPS

Group A: China PR, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Oman

Group B: Japan, DPR Korea, Thailand, Palestine

Group C: Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia

Group D: Korea Republic, Australia, Syria, Vietnam

Qualifiers – Group Winners: Oman (Group A), Iraq (Group B), Qatar (Group C), Uzbekistan (Group D), Palestine (Group E), Australia (Group F), DPR Korea (Group G), Malaysia (Group H), Korea Republic (Group I).

Best Second-Placed Teams: Saudi Arabia (Group B), Syria (Group C), Jordan (Group E), Thailand (Group H), Vietnam (Group I), Japan (Group J)

Hosts: China PR