2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

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2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Tournament details
Dates6 June 2019 – 7 June 2022
Teams46[note 1] (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played216
Goals scored652 (3.02 per match)
Attendance2,076,651 (9,614 per match)
Top scorer(s)United Arab Emirates Ali Mabkhout
(14 goals)
← 2018
2026 →
All statistics correct as of 1 February 2022.

The Asian part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification is the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It is for the national teams who are members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Besides from Qatar (who qualified automatically as hosts), there a total of 4 or 5 slots (4 direct slots and 1 possible inter-confederation play-off slot) to the World Cup.[1]

The tournament has four rounds; the first two rounds also being qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup (which is why Qatar plays in the first two rounds). The first round would have also been qualifiers for the 2020 AFC Solidarity Cup but it was cancelled.[2]

Format[change | change source]

The qualification format is as follows:[3]

  • First round: Twelve teams (ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
  • Second round: Forty teams (ranked 1–34 and six first-round winners) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. Originally, the eight group winners and the four best group runners-up were supposed advance to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification, as well as qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. However, since Qatar won their group, the fifth-best runners-up took their place in the third round.[4]
  • Third round: Twelve teams that advanced from the second round will be divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the World Cup, and the third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round.
  • Fourth round: The two third-placed teams from the third round will play a single match. The winner will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants[change | change source]

All 46 FIFA associations from AFC entered qualification. The FIFA World Rankings from April 2019 was used to determine who would play in the first round. The second and third rounds used the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the draw.

Because the qualification format was for both the World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers, both Qatar (automatically qualifying to the World Cup as hosts) and China PR (automatically qualifying to the Asian Cup as hosts) entered the second round. Qatar played for qualification to the Asian Cup, and China to the World Cup.[5]

Timor-Leste was banned from playing in the Asian Cup qualifiers after they fielded 12 players they weren't able to play in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification.[6] FIFA did not ban them from the World Cup qualifiers though, so Timor-Leste was allowed to enter the competition. They are not able to qualify to the Asian Cup but they can qualify to the World Cup.[7]

From the April 2019 FIFA World Rankings[8]
Bye to the second round
(Ranked 1st to 34th) 		Competing in first round
(Ranked 35th to 46th)
  1.  Iran (21)
  2.  Japan (26)
  3.  South Korea (37)
  4.  Australia (41)
  5.  Qatar (55)
  6.  United Arab Emirates (67)
  7.  Saudi Arabia (72)
  8.  China (74)
  9.  Iraq (76)
  10.  Syria (83)
  11.  Uzbekistan (85)
  12.  Lebanon (86)
  13.  Oman (86)
  14.  Kyrgyzstan (95)
  15.  Jordan (97)
  16.  Vietnam (98)
  17.  Palestine (99)
  18.  India (101)
  19.  Bahrain (111)
  20.  Thailand (114)
  21.  Tajikistan (120)
  22.  North Korea (121)
  23.  Philippines (124)
  24.  Chinese Taipei (125)
  25.  Turkmenistan (136)
  26.  Myanmar (140)
  27.  Hong Kong (141)
  28.  Yemen (146)
  29.  Afghanistan (149)
  30.  Maldives (151)
  31.  Kuwait (156)
  32.  Indonesia (159)
  33.  Singapore (160)
  34.    Nepal (161)
  1.  Malaysia (168)
  2.  Cambodia (173)
  3.  Macau (183)
  4.  Laos (184)
  5.  Bhutan (186)
  6.  Mongolia (187)
  7.  Bangladesh (188)
  8.  Guam (193)
  9.  Brunei (194)
  10.  Timor-Leste (195)
  11.  Pakistan (200)
  12.  Sri Lanka (202)

Schedule[change | change source]

The schedule of the competition according to the FIFA International Match Calendar.[9][10][11][12][13]

Round Matchday Date(s)
First round First leg 6 June 2019
Second leg 11 June 2019
Second round Matchday 1 5 September 2019
Matchday 2 10 September 2019
Matchday 3 10 October 2019
Matchday 4 15 October 2019
Matchday 5 14 November 2019
Matchday 6 19 November 2019
Matchday 7 25 March, 28 May and 3 June 2021
Matchday 8 4 December 2020, 30 March and 7 & 9 June 2021
Matchday 9 30 March, 30 May and 11 June 2021
Matchday 10 13 and 15 June 2021
Round Matchday Date
Third round Matchday 1 2 September 2021
Matchday 2 7 September 2021
Matchday 3 7 October 2021
Matchday 4 12 October 2021
Matchday 5 11 November 2021
Matchday 6 16 November 2021
Matchday 7 27 January 2022
Matchday 8 1 February 2022
Matchday 9 24 March 2022
Matchday 10 29 March 2022
Fourth round Single leg May or June 2022
Inter-confederation play-offs Single leg 13 or 14 June 2022
Original qualifying schedule
Stage Matchday Date
Second round Matchday 7 26 March 2020, later 8 October
Matchday 8 31 March 2020, later 13 October
Matchday 9 4 June 2020, later 12 November, then 7 June 2021
Matchday 10 9 June 2020, later 17 November
Third round Matchday 1 3 September 2020
Matchday 2 8 September 2020
Matchday 3 13 October 2020
Matchday 4 12 November 2020
Matchday 5 17 November 2020
Matchday 6 25 March 2021
Matchday 7 30 March 2021
Matchday 8 8 June 2021
Matchday 9 7 September 2021
Matchday 10 12 October 2021
Fourth round First leg 11 November 2021
Second leg 16 November 2021
Inter-confederation play-offs First leg March 2022
Second leg March 2022

First round[change | change source]

See the main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round

The draw for the first round was held on 17 April 2019 at 11:00 MST (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[14]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg Mongolia  3–2  Brunei 2–0 1–2
Macau  1–3[note 2]  Sri Lanka 1–0 0–3 (awd.)
Laos  0–1  Bangladesh 0–1 0–0
Malaysia  12–2  Timor-Leste 7–1 5–1
Cambodia  4–1  Pakistan 2–0 2–1
Bhutan  1–5  Guam 1–0 0–5

Second round[change | change source]

See the main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

The draw for the second round was held on 17 July 2019 at 17:00 MST (UTC+8), at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[18]

Summary[change | change source]

  Qualified for the third round (except Qatar) and Asian Cup (except China) as winners or top five runners-up
  Advanced to the Asian Cup third qualifying round as bottom three runners-up, third-placed, fourth-placed and top three fifth-placed team
  Advanced to the AFC Asian Cup qualifying play-off round.
  Denotes a team that withdrew.
Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H

Syria

China
(Third round only)
Australia
Iran

Iraq
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
(Asian Cup only)

Oman
Japan
United Arab Emirates

Vietnam
South Korea

Lebanon

Philippines

Maldives
Kuwait

Jordan

Nepal
Bahrain

Hong Kong
Uzbekistan

Palestine

Singapore

Yemen
India

Afghanistan

Bangladesh
Tajikistan

Kyrgyzstan

Mongolia

Myanmar
Malaysia

Thailand
Turkmenistan

Sri Lanka

Guam
Chinese Taipei
Cambodia
Indonesia

North Korea

Group A[change | change source]

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Group B[change | change source]

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Group C[change | change source]

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Group D[change | change source]

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Group E[change | change source]

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Group F[change | change source]

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Group G[change | change source]

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Group H[change | change source]

North Korea withdrew from the qualifying round because of COVID-19 concerns.[19][20] 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Ranking of runner-up teams[change | change source]

Because North Korea withdrew from Group H, games against the fifth-placed teams of each group were not counted in the ranking of the runner-up teams.[20] 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Third round[change | change source]

See the main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round

The third round consists of two groups of six teams. The first two teams in each group will qualify for the World Cup. The two third-placed teams proceed to the fourth round. The draw was held on 1 July 2021 in Malaysia.

Group A[change | change source]

Template:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round group tables

Group B[change | change source]

Template:2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round group tables

Fourth round[change | change source]

See the main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round

The two third-placed teams in each group from the third round will play against each other in a single match to decide which team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

The host city and venue for this match will be announced during the draw for this round. 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round

Inter-confederation play-off[change | change source]

See the main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off)

The inter-confederation play-off was determined by a draw held on 26 November 2021. The fifth-placed team from AFC was drawn against the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL.[21] The play-off is scheduled to be played as a single match in Qatar on 13 or 14 June 2022.[22] 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

Qualified teams[change | change source]

The following teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
 Qatar Hosts 2 December 2010 0 (debut)

Top goalscorers[change | change source]

There have been 626 goals scored in 204 matches, for an average of 3.07 goals per match (as of 16 November 2021). Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.

14 goals

12 goals

9 goals

7 goals

6 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for each round:

Similar pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup confederation slots maintained". FIFA. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar". AFC. Asian Football Confederation. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "Pakistan to learn World Cup, Asian Cup qualifying fate on April 17". Dawn.com. 22 March 2019.
  4. ↑ "Groups finalised for Qatar 2022 & China 2023 race". Asian Football Confederation. 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019.
  5. ↑ Palmer, Dan (31 July 2017). "Hosts Qatar to compete in qualifying for 2022 World Cup". inside the games.
  6. ↑ "Federação Futebol Timor-Leste expelled from AFC Asian Cup 2023". Asian Football Confederation. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Road to Qatar 2022: Asian teams discover Round 1 opponents". Asian Football Confederation. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  8. ↑ "FIFA Men's Ranking – April 2019 (AFC)". FIFA. 4 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019". Asian Football Confederation. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  10. ↑ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2020". AFC. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2021" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 17 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2022" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 20 October 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR 2020-2024" (PDF). FIFA. August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Draw sets out path for Asian aspirants". FIFA. 17 April 2019.
  15. ↑ "Football - Macau not sending team to Sri Lanka due to security concerns". Reuters. 8 June 2019.
  16. ↑ "AFC Statement". Asian Football Confederation. 10 June 2019. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019.
  17. ↑ "FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctions Macau Football Association". FIFA. 27 June 2019.
  18. ↑ "Asian Qualifiers draw to provide pathway to Qatar and China". Asian Football Confederation. 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "Latest update on Asian Qualifiers". Asian Football Confederation. 16 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Latest decision on Asian Qualifiers". Asian Football Confederation. 27 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "European and intercontinental play-off draw results and reaction". FIFA. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  22. ↑ Allen, William (26 November 2021). "2022 World Cup inter-confederation play-off draw: fixtures and format". as.com. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
Notes
  1. ↑ North Korea withdrew after five matches. Qatar played to reach the Asian Cup.
  2. ↑ Macau did not go to Sri Lanka for the second leg due to safety concerns from the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.[15] FIFA announced on 27 June 2019, that this match would be a 3–0 forfeit win to Sri Lanka.[16][17]

Other websites[change | change source]

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