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2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

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2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Tournament details
Dates6 June 2019 – 16 November 2021
Teams46 (from 1 confederation)
← 2018
2026 →

The Asian section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). 4.5 slots (4 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot, excluding the host nation's slot) in the final tournament are available for AFC teams.[1]

The qualification process will involve four rounds, where the first two will double as the qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Format

Assuming the format used for the 2018 finals is maintained, the qualification structure is as follows:[2][3]

  • First round: 12 teams (ranked 35–46) play home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advance to the second round.
  • Second round: 40 teams (ranked 1–34 and six first round winners) are 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 advance to the third round of World Cup qualification as well as qualify for the Asian Cup finals.
  • Third round: The 12 teams which advance from the second round are divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualify for the World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advance to the fourth round.
  • Fourth round: The two third-placed teams of each group from the third round play home-and-away over two legs. The winners advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants

The 45 FIFA-affiliated nations from the AFC will enter qualification. 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 February 2019 will be used. For seeding in the second round and third round draws, the most recent FIFA Rankings prior to those draws will be used.

Due to the joint format of the World Cup qualifiers and Asian Cup qualifiers, the host nation of the 2023 Asian Cup will also enter the second round of Asian Cup qualifiers and Qatar, the host nation of the 2022 World Cup, is obligated to enter the second round of World Cup qualifiers despite both nations having qualified automatically.[2][4]

Timor-Leste was barred from participating in the Asian Cup qualification after being found to have fielded a total of 12 ineligible players in 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches among other competitions.[5] However, as FIFA has not barred them from the World Cup qualifiers, Timor-Leste is still allowed to enter the competition, but will be ineligible to qualify for the Asian Cup.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[6][7][8]

Round Matchday Date
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 26 March 2020
Matchday 8 31 March 2020
Matchday 9 4 June 2020
Matchday 10 9 June 2020
Round Matchday Date
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

The inter-confederation play-offs will be scheduled during the preliminary draw in July 2019.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup™ confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Draw Procedures – Asian Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Palmer, Dan (31 July 2017). "Hosts Qatar to compete in qualifying for 2022 World Cup". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Federação Futebol Timor-Leste expelled from AFC Asian Cup 2023". AFC. 20 January 2017.
  6. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019" (PDF). AFC. 8 January 2019.
  7. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2020" (PDF). AFC. 9 July 2018.
  8. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2021" (PDF). AFC. 28 February 2018.
  9. ^ "INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR 2018–2024" (PDF). FIFA. 19 October 2018.
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