In pursuit of their third-straight gold medal, South Korea will face Bahrain, Thailand and Kuwait in the group stage of the Asian Games men’s soccer tournament this fall.

The draw for the competition took place in the Asian Games host city of Hangzhou, China, Feb. 27. South Korea ended up in Group E with the three other countries.

The participating 23 nations will be divided into six groups. Groups A, B, C, E and F will have four teams each, while Group D will have three teams.

The top two teams from each group, plus the four best runners-up, will advance to the knockout stage.

South Korea won the men’s soccer gold medal at the Asian Games in 2014 and 2018. The Hangzhou competition was postponed by one year from 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)