Shaanxi, Hunan to host China's Asian Cup qualifiers

Two of the three home games of the Chinese soccer team's Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers will be held in Shaanxi province, while the other one will be arranged in Changsha, Hunan province.

The arrangement has been confirmed by the Chinese Football Association, according to the Shaanxi Sports Bureau on Wednesday.

The match draw threw China into the competitive Group C, along with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

China will meet Iraq in Changsha on March 22 and take on Indonesia and Saudi Arabia on Nov. 15 and 19 respectively.

The finals of the Asian Cup 2015 will be held in Australia. The hosts and the top three of the Asian Cup 2012, Japan, Australia and South Korea, the AFC Challenge Cup 2012 champion DPR Korea, as well as champion of the AFC Challenge Cup 2014 will qualify for the finals directly.

The rest of the 16 final berths will come from top two of each group in qualifiers and the third places with best results.

Both of Iraq and Saudi Arabia are previous Asian Cup winners and bitter rivals for China, and the latter once advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup 1994, indicating a tough way for China to break through. From 1976 to 2011, China has successively shown up on the stage of Asian Cup finals for ten times.