Asian Cup 2027.. Draw date and levels according to the world rankings

The draw for the 2027 Asian Cup in football will be drawn on Saturday in Saudi Arabia (22:00 UAE time), which the Kingdom is hosting for the first time in its history, making it the 16th host in the history of the tournament.
The Saudi Green hopes to become the eighth team to win the title on its home soil if it succeeds in adding a fourth title to the three titles it achieved in 1984, 1988 and 1996. This is an achievement with which the Saudi team will equal Japan’s record as the team that has won the most titles. Qatar won the title of the last edition on its home soil in early 2024, retaining the 2019 title, which it won for the first time.
Since his first successful participation in 1984, Al-Akhdar has not missed any edition of the continental championship, as he begins his twelfth participation at King Fahd City Stadium in Riyadh, with the opening match scheduled for January 7, 2027.
The stadium has a capacity of 72,000 spectators, and is considered the largest of the eight stadiums hosting the tournament matches, which include four others in the capital, in addition to two stadiums in Jeddah and one stadium in Al-Khobar, which will be called Aramco Stadium.
The list of participating teams is not devoid of familiar names to Asian football fans, as 20 out of 23 confirmed teams participated in the 2023 edition.
Among them are the two teams that have participated most in the finals, with 16 times: Iran and South Korea. Iran has achieved this number through consecutive participations, which is a record, and it remains the only team to have won the title three times in a row (1968, 1972 and 1976).
As for the three teams that did not participate in the previous edition, they are North Korea, Kuwait, and Singapore, with their last participation dating back to the years 2019, 2015, and 1984, respectively. The number may increase to four if Yemen, whose previous participation was in the 2019 edition, qualifies.
Of the 24 teams that will compete for the continental title, 23 teams have been confirmed to participate after a long series of qualifiers that lasted three years.
The last seat will be decided between Lebanon and Yemen, who will meet on June 4, 2026 to determine the qualifier.
The teams will be distributed into four levels, each of which includes six teams, according to the latest classification issued by the International Federation (FIFA) on April 1.
After that, the teams will be drawn into six groups, each containing four teams, from Group One to Six.
Prominent stars representing West and East Asia will participate in the draw, led by Saudi Salem Al-Dosari and former Japanese international Hidetoshi Nakata.
To ensure that Saudi Arabia plays the opening match, the host country was placed in first place in the first level, and it will be the first to be drawn.

Levels of teams in the draw
– First level: Saudi Arabia (world ranking: 61), Japan (18), Iran (21), South Korea (25), Australia (27), Uzbekistan (50).
– Second level: Qatar (55), Iraq (57), Jordan (63), UAE (68), Oman (79), Syria (84).
– Third level: Bahrain (91), Thailand (93), China (94), Palestine (95), Vietnam (99), Tajikistan (103).
– Fourth level: Kyrgyzstan (107), North Korea (118), Indonesia (122), Kuwait (134), Singapore (147), Lebanon (108)/Yemen (149).