The roads to Qatar 2022 and China 2023 open up for Asia’s top 40 teams on Wednesday 12pm Qatar time (Kuala Lumpur 5 pm) when they discover their opponents in the eagerly anticipated draw for the second round of the Asian Qualifiers.

The attention will be on the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as the 34 nations who earned their places automatically for the second round, will be joined by the six winners from the first round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Joint Qualifiers.

Asia’s five representatives at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 – Australia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia as well as AFC Asian Cup reigning champions Qatar have all confirmed their spots in Pot 1 after sealing their places among Asia’s top eight in the June 14, 2019, FIFA World Ranking.

In the last edition of the Asian Qualifiers, Asia’s emerging sides - India and Yemen -progressed from the first round to the Continent’s ultimate stage in the UAE earlier this year.

Hoping to emulate their success in this edition are Mongolia who qualified for the second round for the first time in their history.

Likewise, Sri Lanka, who last competed in the second round in 2004 as well as Indonesia and Nepal, who return after nearly eight years, will also be eyeing a similar inspiring run against some of Asia’s powerhouses.

The format to be qualified to the World Cup follows as below:

• First round: 12 teams (ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: 40 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. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up advanced to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals.
• Third round: The 12 teams (an increase from 10 for 2014) which had advanced from the second round were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.
• Fourth round: The two third-placed teams of each group from the third round played home-and-away over two legs. The winners advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar is getting closer! Are you excited?

Source: AFC & Wikipedia

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Leena Chung

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