War Elephants drawn to face Uzbekistan in Asian Cup bid

Thailand will take on 2011 Asian Cup semi-finalists Uzbekistan in the next round of qualifying for next year’s finals in June.

The pair were drawn in Group C, which will be played in Uzbekistan, alongside the Maldives and Sri Lanka in the third round of qualifying for the continental championship.

The War Elephants will kick-start their bid against the Maldives on June 8 before facing Sri Lanka on June 11 and Uzbekistan three days later.

The campaign will be another major test for Mano Polking, the coach who led Thailand to their sixth AFF Suzuki Cup title on Jan 1.

The 24-team finals are due to be played in China in June 2023.

Only the winners of each of the six groups are guaranteed to advance, with the five runners-up with the best records also progressing.

China have…