2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
Tournament details
Dates2 September 2021 – 29 March 2022
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played36
Goals scored75 (2.08 per match)
Attendance254,337 (7,065 per match)
Top scorer(s)China Wu Lei
(4 goals)
← 2018
2026 →
All statistics correct as of 16 November 2021.

The third round[note 1] of AFC matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification is being played from 2 September 2021 to 29 March 2022.[1][2][3]

Format[]

The twelve teams that advanced from the second round (the seven group winners excluding Qatar and the five best group runners-up) were 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 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round. World Cup hosts Qatar won Group E in the second round (which meant they advanced to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup finals) but were not required to qualify for the World Cup.

Qualified teams[]

Group
(Second round) 		Winners Best 5 Runners-up[note 2]
A  Syria  China PR
B  Australia —
C  Iran  Iraq
D  Saudi Arabia —
E  Qatar [note 3]  Oman
F  Japan —
G  United Arab Emirates  Vietnam
H  South Korea  Lebanon

Draw and seeding[]

The draw for the third round was held on 1 July 2021 at 15:00 MST (UTC+8), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[5]

The seeding for the draw was based on a special release of the FIFA World Rankings for Asian teams on 18 June 2021 (shown in parentheses below).[6]

Each group contained one team from each of the six pots.

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Italicised teams qualified for the fourth round.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3
  1.  Japan (24)
  2.  Iran (26)
  1.  Australia (35)
  2.  South Korea (36)
Pot 4 Pot 5 Pot 6
  1.  Iraq (70)
  2.  China PR (71)
  1.  Oman (79)
  2.  Syria (80)
  1.  Vietnam (92)
  2.  Lebanon (98)

Schedule[]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, FIFA announced on 12 August 2020 that the upcoming qualifying matches originally scheduled for 2020 were moved to 2021,[7] and on 11 November, the AFC Competitions Committee also announced that the final round of the Asian qualifiers will begin in September 2021 and be finished by March 2022.[8]

Matchday Date Original date
Matchday 1 2 September 2021 3 September 2020
Matchday 2 7 September 2021 8 September 2020
Matchday 3 7 October 2021 13 October 2020
Matchday 4 12 October 2021 12 November 2020
Matchday 5 11 November 2021 17 November 2020
Matchday 6 16 November 2021 25 March 2021
Matchday 7 27 January 2022 30 March 2021
Matchday 8 1 February 2022 8 June 2021
Matchday 9 24 March 2022 7 September 2021
Matchday 10 29 March 2022 12 October 2021

Groups[]

Group A[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iran 6 5 1 0 11 2 +9 16 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup — 1–1 1 Feb 29 Mar 27 Jan 1–0
2  South Korea 6 4 2 0 8 2 +6 14 24 Mar — 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–1
3  United Arab Emirates 6 1 3 2 4 5 −1 6 Advance to fourth round 0–1 29 Mar — 0–0 2–2 27 Jan
4  Lebanon 6 1 2 3 4 6 −2 5 1–2 27 Jan 0–1 — 1 Feb 24 Mar
5  Iraq 6 0 4 2 3 9 −6 4 0–3 0–3 24 Mar 0–0 — 1–1
6  Syria 6 0 2 4 5 11 −6 2 0–3 1 Feb 1–1 2–3 29 Mar —
Updated to match(es) played on 16 November 2021. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
South Korea 0–0 Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Iran 1–0 Syria
  • Jahanbakhsh Goal 56'
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)
United Arab Emirates 0–0 Lebanon
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 1,513
Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)
South Korea 1–0 Lebanon
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)
Syria 1–1 United Arab Emirates
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 2,370
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Iraq 0–3 Iran
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)
South Korea 2–1 Syria
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Iraq 0–0 Lebanon
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
United Arab Emirates 0–1 Iran
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)		 Taremi Goal 70'
Attendance: 3,034
Iran 1–1 South Korea
Jahanbakhsh Goal 76' Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)		 Son Heung-min Goal 48'
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
United Arab Emirates 2–2 Iraq
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 2,820
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)
Syria 2–3 Lebanon
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 2,377
South Korea 1–0 United Arab Emirates
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 30,152
Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)
Lebanon 1–2 Iran
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Iraq 1–1 Syria
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 50
Iraq 0–3 South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Syria 0–3 Iran
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 907
Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)
Lebanon 0–1 United Arab Emirates
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)		 Mabkhout Goal 85' (pen.)
Attendance: 0
Referee: (Australia)
Iran v Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Lebanon v South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
United Arab Emirates v Syria
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Syria v South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Zabeel Stadium, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)[note 6]
Lebanon v Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
South Korea v Iran
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Iraq v United Arab Emirates
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Lebanon v Syria
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Iran v Lebanon
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
United Arab Emirates v South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Syria v Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Group B[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Saudi Arabia 6 5 1 0 9 3 +6 16 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 29 Mar 27 Jan 3–2 3–1
2  Japan 6 4 0 2 5 3 +2 12 1 Feb — 2–1 0–1 27 Jan 29 Mar
3  Australia 6 3 2 1 9 4 +5 11 Advance to fourth round 0–0 24 Mar — 3–1 3–0 27 Jan
4  Oman 6 2 1 3 6 7 −1 7 0–1 0–1 1 Feb — 29 Mar 3–1
5  China PR 6 1 2 3 7 11 −4 5 24 Mar 0–1 1–1 1–1 — 3–2
6  Vietnam (Y) 6 0 0 6 4 12 −8 0 0–1 0–1 0–1 24 Mar 1 Feb —
Updated to match(es) played on 16 November 2021. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to fourth round
Japan 0–1 Oman
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 4,853
Australia 3–0 China PR
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Saudi Arabia 3–1 Vietnam
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Mrsool Park, Riyadh
Attendance: 8,331
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Vietnam 0–1 Australia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
China PR 0–1 Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Oman 0–1 Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 8,150
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)
Saudi Arabia 1–0 Japan
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 51,218
China PR 3–2 Vietnam
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)[note 9]
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Australia 3–1 Oman
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Japan 2–1 Australia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 14,437
Oman 3–1 Vietnam
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,123
Saudi Arabia 3–2 China PR
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 54,124
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Australia 0–0 Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 23,314
Vietnam 0–1 Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 11,022
China PR 1–1 Oman
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)[note 9]
Attendance: 1,700
China PR 1–1 Australia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)[note 9]
Attendance: 1,050
Oman 0–1 Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 14,123
Vietnam 0–1 Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,669
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)
Japan v China PR
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Australia v Vietnam
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Saudi Arabia v Oman
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Japan v Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Oman v Australia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Vietnam v China PR
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Australia v Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
China PR v Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Vietnam v Oman
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Japan v Vietnam
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Saudi Arabia v Australia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Oman v China PR
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Goalscorers[]

There have been 75 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 2.08 goals per match (as of 16 November 2021).

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ On the AFC's official YouTube page, "The AFC Hub," it is referred to as the Final Round.
  2. ^ This would usually be a "Best 4", but because the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar won their group (their participation in the second round was to secure a spot in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup), the draw for the third round of the former mentioned tournament's qualification included 5 runners-up instead.[4]
  3. ^ Qatar had already qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup as tournament hosts, but competed in the second round as part of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, the match was played behind closed doors.
  5. ^ a b The Korean FA (South Korea) and Lebanese FA (Lebanon) have agreed to switch the order of their home-and-away matches.[9]
  6. ^ a b c d Due to the Syrian civil war, Syria play its home matches at neutral venues.
  7. ^ a b c d Due to the security concerns, Iraq play its home matches at neutral venues.
  8. ^ a b Due to the border closures in Australia because of COVID-19 pandemic, Australia played its two home matches at neutral venues.
  9. ^ a b c d Due to the quarantine restrictions in China because of COVID-19 pandemic, China play its home matches at neutral venues.

References[]

  1. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2021" (PDF). AFC. 17 September 2021.
  2. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2022" (PDF). AFC. 20 October 2021.
  3. ^ "INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR 2020-2024" (PDF). FIFA. August 2021.
  4. ^ "Groups finalised for Qatar 2022 & China 2023 race". China.org.cn. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  5. ^ "2022 World Cup Asian Qualifiers Draw: When will be the third round matches played?". Goal. 1 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Asia World Cup qualifying: What's next?". FIFA. 18 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Update on upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Asia". FIFA. 12 August 2020.
  8. ^ "2022 FIFA World Cup: Asian qualifiers to be completed by March 2022". Olympics.com. 12 November 2020.
  9. ^ "National confirmation... Lebanon outside its land in September" (in Arabic). 2 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Socceroos to host China PR in Doha". Football Australia. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Chinese national football team gears up for World Cup qualifiers". Xinhuanet. Xinhua. 19 August 2021.
  12. ^ Francis, Kieran (15 September 2021). "Socceroos World Cup qualifier against Oman won't be played in Australia". Sporting News.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""