Pakistan, May 11 -- Four-time winners Japan have been grouped with defending champions Qatar at the Asian Cup 2027 football tournament.

Saudi Arabia will host the 24-team tournament for the first time from January 7 to February 5.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will be hoping the competition will be held without any further complications after the draw was delayed due to the US-Israel war on Iran. The draw was originally set for April 11 but was postponed to May 9. The final field is still incomplete because the Lebanon-Yemen match was not played as scheduled on March 31 and has been postponed to June. As well as Qatar, champions in 2019 and 2023, Japan will take on Indonesia and Thailand in Group F.

"Japan is one of the leader...