Who will be the winner of the 2019 AFC?

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup will be held from January 5 to February 1 in the United Arab Emirates. AFC is a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation, founded in 1956 and held every four years. Only seven out of 12 countries participated in the first event held in Hong Kong in 1956, but now more than 32 to 44 of 52 countries will participate. The winning team will be entitled to compete as an Asian representative in the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup.

The AFC first gathered together and played in a league match, but changed its membership into 10 groups and then 16 countries to qualify for the finals. Starting from 2019, the number of participating countries will be expanded to 24 countries. In the final round, the league will be divided into six teams, and the top four of the first two teams in each group and the top three teams in each group will advance to the round of 16. From the round of 16 to the final, it is a tournament.

The group draw for the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 took place on May 4, 2018. The seeded allocation is based on the April 2018 FIFA Ranking. South Korea has been placed in Group C along with China, the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan. The coach of the Korean team is Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento, and the national team consists of players like Hwang Eui-jo, Koo Ja-cheol and Ki Sung-yueng. Korea was not only the runner-up in the 2015 AFC, but also the runner-up in 1988, 1980, and 1972. It also won AFC in the past in 1960 and 1956.

Vietnam is the team that is receiving much attention from 2019 AFC. Vietnam won last year's 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup. The AFF Suzuki Cup is called the "World Cup of East Asia" because it is a competition where member countries of the Association of ASEAN (AFF) compete for their skills. Vietnam won the competition, and the coach of the Vietnamese team is South Korean manager Park Hang-seo. Many in the media are paying attention to the result of Vietnam, which is under Korean control.

Starting with the Philippines on January 7, our Korean team is also set to play against Kyrgyzstan on January 12.

사진1:▲2019AFC/ Source: NAVER

사진2:▲Park Hang-seo, Vietnam's football team coach who holds the trophy./ Source: Getty Image Korea