Australia will make their Asian Cup debuts against Gulf side Oman after they were drawn into Group A of the continent's premier national tournament in Tuesday's draw.

The final draw result for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup 2007 is shown on a screen next to the trophy in Kuala Lumpur December 19, 2006¡£[Reuters]

The Socceroos, who open their campaign on July 8 in Bangkok, should be able to qualify for the last eight from a group that also features Asian Games runners-up Iraq and co-hosts Thailand.

In a glitzy ceremony beamed live across Asia from the Convention Centre, two-time defending champions Japan were drawn against co-hosts Vietnam, Qatar and United Arab Emirates in Group B.

In Group C co-hosts Malaysia face seeded Iran, Uzbekistan and China while South Korea face the toughest assignment in Group D against the fourth co-hosts Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Australia, admitted to the Asian Football Confederation this year, were the first team to qualify for the finals and are among the favourites to lift the title in their maiden appearance.

The Asian Cup 2007 will be held from July 7-29 in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The draw was not entirely open because Saudi Arabia were restricted to playing their preliminary matches in either Malaysia or Indonesia.

The Saudis were unable to play in Thailand because of diplomatic reasons, according to the AFC.

This also excluded them from Group B in Vietnam because the runners-up from this pool are required to play their quarter-final in Bangkok.

This meant that the teams in the Vietnam and Thailand pools were given an advantage in avoiding the threat of facing the Saudis, who reached the World Cup finals this year.

Outgoing AFC general secretary Peter Velappan was required to make a special draw that slotted Saudi Arabia into Group D.

The four seeded teams, all 2006 Germany World Cup finalists, were Australia, Iran, Japan and South Korea, based on FIFA world rankings at the end of October.