Anticipation is growing among not just the participating teams but also fans from all over the world as the official draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ and AFC Asian Cup 2023 - Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 will be held at the AFC House in Malaysia on April 17, 2019.

Teams ranked from 35 to 46 (Malaysia, Cambodia, Macau, Laos, Bhutan, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Guam, Brunei Darussalam, Timor-Leste, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) based on the latest FIFA world rankings will participate in the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1.

The qualification structure

The qualification process is as follows:

First Round (12 countries)

12 National Teams ranked from 35 to 46 in AFC will play the preliminary round. Each team will be drawn against one opponent to play home and away fixtures. 6 teams (winners on aggregate score) will progress to the second round.

Second Round (40 countries)

The second round will be commenced in September 2019. 40 countries will be divided into 5 pots for the draw. They will be divided into 8 groups of 5.

Third round:

In this round, all 12 teams will be divided into 2 groups. For one year every team will play home and away fixtures with its counterparts. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round.

Fourth round:

This round is applicable to the teams finishing third in their respective groups of the third round. The third-placed teams of each group will play home and away fixtures to decide which team will represent AFC in the inter-confederation playoff round.

Fifth Round

The winner of the fourth round will play inter-confederation playoff against a team from one other confederation. The opponent is selected by draws. The aggregate result from home and away fixtures will decide the team going to play the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Qatar won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup and has become the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup soccer. Apart from producing encouraging team results, preparations are at full swing in Qatar to lay new road networks, build state-of-the-art stadiums, underground rail tunnels, and bridges.

With top-notch infrastructure developments take shape at a fast pace and the most tranquil climate to be enjoyed in Qatar in November and December, the country clearly looks set to leave an enduring legacy with the hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

(Source: https://www.goal.com/en/news/
https://footyrankings.com/2019/01/30/seeding-for-2022-fifa-world-cuphttps://www.sportskeeda.com/football/fifa-world-cup-2022)

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Khadiza Begum

Content Writer

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