Australia has been drawn in Group B along with 1980 champion Kuwait, Indonesia and Oman in the final qualification round for the 15th Asian Cup to be held in Qatar in 2011. Twenty teams have been divided into five groups of four each with in a home and away qualifying format beginning on January 14, 2009 and finishing on March 3, 2010. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Asian Cup Finals. Iraq, the 2007 Asian Cup winner, runner-up Saudi Arabia, the third placed South Korea and host Qatar have qualifed automatically while the remaining two slots will be filled by the winners of the AFC Challenge Cup tournaments in 2008 and 2010. “It's a very challenging draw,” Australia team manager Gary Moretti told journalists. “There could be surprises.” Three-time Champion Japan, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Yemen comprise Group B while Iran, also three-time champion, has been placed in Group E along with Thailand, Jordan and Singapore. “There are no easy games these days,” Iran coach Ali Daei said. “We treat all games as important.” Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia have won the Asian Cup three times each, while South Korea has been champion twice. Kuwait and Iraq have won the event once. Group A: Japan, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Yemen; Group B: Australia, Indonesia, Oman, Kuwait; Group C: Uzbekistan, UAE, Malaysia, India; Group D: Vietnam, China, Syria, Lebanon; Group E: Iran, Thailand, Jordan, Singapore. Aragones with Fenerbahce Spanish coach Luis Aragones has signed a pre-contract with Turkey's Fenerbahce and was expected in Istanbul late on Thursday, the club said. Aragones, who led champion Spain in Euro 2008, was to join the team on Sunday when it is due to fly to Austria for a training camp, a statement on Fenerbahce's website said. A date for the signing ceremony of the final contract will be announced later, it said, without disclosing financial terms. Fenerbahce had first announced a two-year pre-contract with Aragones on June 25, but the coach – then still at the helm of Spain in the eve of their Euro 2008 semifinal against Russia – had denied the deal. Approaching his 70th birthday, Aragones became the oldest coach to win the European title when Spain beat Germany 1-0 on Sunday, clinching its second title after the first in 1964. Domenech survives the ax Raymond Domenech has survived the sack with the French Football Federation announcing Thursday that he had kept his job as manager despite France's poor showing at Euro 2008. The 2006 World Cup runner-up was knocked out in the first round at the European championships, returning home with two defeats, one draw, six goals conceded and only one scored. The decision to stick with Domenech - by 18 votes for and one abstention - was announced by FFF President Jean-Pierre Escalettes. He said: “The Executive Committee has maintained the manager in his post to prepare for the 2010 World Cup and redefined the terms of his mission and the conditions of management of the national team.” Domenech took over from Jacques Santini as France manager after Euro 2004 and guided the team to the 2006 World Cup final where it lost on penalties to Italy. Under his watch France has won 30 of its 54 matches with 17 draws and seven defeats.
