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2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

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2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Tournament details
Dates12 March 2015 – 10 October 2017
Teams46 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played118
Goals scored382 (3.24 per match)
Attendance1,617,833 (13,710 per match)
Top scorer(s)Saudi Arabia Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (13 goals)
← 2014
2022 →
All statistics correct as of 12 November 2015.

The Asian section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acts as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). A total of 4.5 slots (4 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament are available for AFC teams.[1]

On 16 April 2014, the AFC Executive Committee approved a proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup, which will be expanded to 24 teams starting in 2019.[2] Therefore, the first two rounds of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers also act as qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Format

The qualification structure is as follows:[2][3]

  • First round: A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 35–46) will play home-and-away over two legs. The six winners will advance to the second round.
  • Second round: A total of 40 teams (teams ranked 1–34 and six first round winners) will be 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 will advance to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals.
  • Third round: The 12 teams (an increase from 10 for 2014) which advance 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 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round.
  • Fourth round: The two third-placed teams of each group from the third round will play home-and-away over two legs. The winner will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

A total of 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round will compete in the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification (which will be separate from the third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification), where they will be divided into six groups of four teams and compete for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 24 teams will consist of the 16 highest ranked teams eliminated in the second round, and the eight teams that advance from the play-off round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification which are contested by the remaining 12 teams eliminated in the second round.[4]

Entrants

The 46 FIFA-affiliated nations from the AFC entered qualification.[5] In order to determine which nations would compete in the first round and which nations would receive a bye through to the second round, the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015 were used (shown in parentheses), as that was the latest published rankings prior to the first round draw. The FIFA Rankings of January 2015 were also used for seeding of the first round draw; however, for seeding in the second round and third round draws, the most recent FIFA Rankings prior to those draws will be used.

From the January 2015 FIFA World Rankings[6]
Bye to the second round
(Ranked 1st to 34th) 		Competing in first round
(Ranked 35th to 46th)
  1.  Iran (51)
  2.  Japan (54)
  3.  South Korea (69)
  4.  Uzbekistan (71)
  5.  United Arab Emirates (80)
  6.  Qatar (92)
  7.  Oman (93)
  8.  Jordan (93)
  9.  China (96)
  10.  Australia (100)
  11.  Saudi Arabia (102)
  12.  Bahrain (110)
  13.  Iraq (114)
  14.  Palestine (115)
  15.  Lebanon (122)
  16.  Kuwait (125)
  17.  Philippines (129)
  2.  Maldives (131)
  3.  Vietnam (133)
  4.  Tajikistan (136)
  5.  Myanmar (141)
  6.  Afghanistan (142)
  7.  Thailand (144)
  8.  Turkmenistan (147)
  9.  North Korea (150)
  10.  Syria (151)
  11.  Kyrgyzstan (152)
  12.  Malaysia (154)
  13.  Hong Kong (156)
  14.  Singapore (157)
  15.  Indonesia (159)
  16.  Laos (160)
  17.  Guam (161)
  18.  Bangladesh (165)
  2.  India (171)
  3.  Sri Lanka (172)
  4.  Yemen (176)
  5.  Cambodia (179)
  6.  Chinese Taipei (182)
  7.  East Timor (185)
  8.    Nepal (186)
  9.  Macau (186)
  10.  Pakistan (188)
  11.  Mongolia (194)
  12.  Brunei (198)
  13.  Bhutan (209)

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[7][8]

Round Matchday Date
First round First leg 12 March 2015
Second leg 17 March 2015
Second round Matchday 1 11 June 2015
Matchday 2 16 June 2015
Matchday 3 3 September 2015
Matchday 4 8 September 2015
Matchday 5 8 October 2015
Matchday 6 13 October 2015
Matchday 7 12 November 2015
Matchday 8 17 November 2015
Matchday 9 24 March 2016
Matchday 10 29 March 2016
Round Matchday Date
Third round Matchday 1 1 September 2016
Matchday 2 6 September 2016
Matchday 3 6 October 2016
Matchday 4 11 October 2016
Matchday 5 15 November 2016
Matchday 6 23 March 2017
Matchday 7 28 March 2017
Matchday 8 13 June 2017
Matchday 9 31 August 2017
Matchday 10 5 September 2017
Fourth round First leg 5 October 2017
Second leg 10 October 2017

The inter-confederation play-offs are scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.[9]

First round

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round

The draw for the first round was held on 10 February 2015, 15:30 MST (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[10]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
India  2–0    Nepal 2–0 0–0
Yemen  3–1  Pakistan 3–1 0–0
East Timor  5-1[N 1]  Mongolia 4–1[N 1] 1–0[N 1]
Cambodia  4–1  Macau 3–0 1–1
Chinese Taipei  2–1  Brunei 0–1 2–0
Sri Lanka  1–3  Bhutan 0–1 1–2
Notes
  1. ^ a b c On 12 December 2017, Timor-Leste were ordered by the AFC to forfeit both matches against Mongolia due to the use of falsified documents for their players.

Second round

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

The draw for the second round was held on 14 April 2015, at 17:00 MST (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[11][12]

Groups

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[13]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

Group A

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group A table

Group B

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group B table

Group C

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group C table

Group D

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group D table

Group E

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group E table

Group F

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group F table

Group G

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group G table

Group H

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group H table

Ranking of runner-up teams

To determine the four best runner-up teams, the following criteria are used:

  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Goal difference
  3. Goals scored
  4. Play-off match(es) on neutral ground (if approved by FIFA Organizing Committee), with extra time and penalty shoot-out if necessary

As a result of Indonesia being disqualified due to FIFA suspension, Group F contains only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team are not counted when determining the ranking of the runner-up teams.[14] Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Runners-up table

Ranking of fourth-placed teams

To determine the four best fourth-placed teams, the following criteria were used:

  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Goal difference
  3. Goals scored
  4. Play-off match(es) on neutral ground (if approved by AFC Organizing Committee), with extra time and penalty shoot-out if necessary

As a result of Indonesia being disqualified due to FIFA suspension, Group F contains only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team are not counted when determining the ranking of the fourth-placed teams.[14] Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Fourth-placed teams table

Third round

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round

The third round will consist of two groups of six teams. The first two teams in each group will proceed to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The two group third-placed teams will proceed to the fourth round.

The draw for the third round will be held after the second round is completed.

Groups

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[15]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

Group A

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round Group A table

Group B

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round Group B table

Fourth round

The two third-placed teams in each group from the third round will play against each other home-and-away over two legs to determine which team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

The draw for the fourth round (to decide the order of legs) will be held after the third round is completed.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Third round Group A/B third place Third round Group A/B third place 5 Oct '17 10 Oct '17

Inter-confederation play-offs

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg.[16] The fifth-placed team from AFC was drawn against the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF, with the AFC team hosting the second leg.[17]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Honduras  1–3  Australia 0–0 1–3

Goalscorers

As of 12 matches played on 17 November 2015

Note: Players in bold are still active in the competition.

13 goals
10 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

See also

References

  1. ^ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup™ confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. 30 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Draw Procedures – Asian Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com.
  4. ^ "World Cup draw looms large in Asia". FIFA.com. 13 April 2015. Completing the tournament's qualifying contenders will be the next 16 highest ranked teams, with the remaining 12 sides battling it out in play-off matches to claim the last eight spots.
  5. ^ "Road to Russia with new milestone". FIFA.com. 15 January 2015.
  6. ^ "FIFA Men's Ranking – January 2015 (AFC)". FIFA.com. 8 January 2015.
  7. ^ "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2015" (PDF). AFC.
  8. ^ "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016 - 2018" (PDF). AFC. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  9. ^ "FIFA Calendar". FIFA.com.
  10. ^ "India v Nepal headlines 2018 World Cup, 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers draw". AFC. 10 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Draw date set for Round 2 of 2018 World Cup, 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers". AFC. 26 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Draw: 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Preliminary Qualification Round 2". AFC. 15 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Criteria to Determine the Rankings of Best-placed Teams among the Groups" (PDF). AFC.
  15. ^ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Preliminary Draw procedures outlined". fifa.com. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  17. ^ "The Preliminary Draw results in full". FIFA.com. 25 July 2015.
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