2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
The third round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification will be played from 1 September 2016 to 5 September 2017.[1]
Format
A total of 12 teams which advanced from the second round (the eight group winners and the four best group runners-up) 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.
Qualified teams
| Group | Winners | Runners-up (Best 4 qualify) |
|---|---|---|
| A |  Saudi Arabia |
 United Arab Emirates |
| B |  Australia |
— |
| C |  Qatar |
 China PR |
| D |  Iran |
— |
| E |  Japan |
 Syria |
| F |  Thailand |
 Iraq |
| G |  South Korea |
— |
| H |  Uzbekistan |
— |
Seeding
The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016, at 16:30 MST (UTC+8), at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[2][3]
The seeding are based on the FIFA World Rankings of April 2016 (shown in parentheses below).[4] The 12 teams are seeded into six pots:[5]
- Pot 1 contained the teams ranked 1–2.
- Pot 2 contained the teams ranked 3–4.
- Pot 3 contained the teams ranked 5–6.
- Pot 4 contained the teams ranked 7–8.
- Pot 5 contained the teams ranked 9–10.
- Pot 6 contained the teams ranked 11–12.
Each group will contain one team from each of the six pots.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Groups
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
|---|
In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[6]
|
Before the draw, the schedule was announced.[7]
| Matchdays | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep '16 | 6 Sep '16 | 6 Oct '16 | 11 Oct '16 | 15 Nov '16 | 23 Mar '17 | 28 Mar '17 | 13 Jun '17[†] | 31 Aug '17 | 5 Sep '17 |
| 1 v 5 2 v 4 3 v 6 |
5 v 3 6 v 2 4 v 1 |
3 v 1 4 v 6 2 v 5 |
5 v 6 3 v 4 1 v 2 |
4 v 5 6 v 1 2 v 3 |
5 v 1 4 v 2 6 v 3 |
3 v 5 2 v 6 1 v 4 |
1 v 3 6 v 4 5 v 2 |
6 v 5 4 v 3 2 v 1 |
5 v 4 1 v 6 3 v 2 |
- Notes
- † Australia will play their Matchday 8 game on 8 June 2017 because of their involvement in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.[8]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 11 Oct '16 | 13 Jun '17 | 28 Mar '17 | 1 Sep '16 | 5 Sep '17 | |
| 1 | South Korea |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 Aug '17 | — | 15 Nov '16 | 1 Sep '16 | 6 Oct '16 | 28 Mar '17 | ||
| 1 | Uzbekistan |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to fourth round | 6 Oct '16 | 5 Sep '17 | — | 11 Oct '16 | 28 Mar '17 | 1 Sep '16 | |
| 1 | China PR |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 Sep '16 | 23 Mar '17 | 31 Aug '17 | — | 15 Nov '16 | 6 Oct '16 | ||
| 1 | Qatar |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 Mar '17 | 13 Jun '17 | 6 Sep '16 | 5 Sep '17 | — | 11 Oct '16 | ||
| 1 | Syria |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 Nov '16 | 6 Sep '16 | 23 Mar '17 | 13 Jun '17 | 31 Aug '17 | — |
First match(es) will be played on 1 September 2016. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 11 Oct '16 | 8 Jun '17 | 28 Mar '17 | 1 Sep '16 | 5 Sep '17 | |
| 1 | Japan |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 Aug '17 | — | 15 Nov '16 | 1 Sep '16 | 6 Oct '16 | 28 Mar '17 | ||
| 1 | Saudi Arabia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to fourth round | 6 Oct '16 | 5 Sep '17 | — | 11 Oct '16 | 28 Mar '17 | 1 Sep '16 | |
| 1 | United Arab Emirates |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 Sep '16 | 23 Mar '17 | 31 Aug '17 | — | 15 Nov '16 | 6 Oct '16 | ||
| 1 | Iraq |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 Mar '17 | 13 Jun '17 | 6 Sep '16 | 5 Sep '17 | — | 11 Oct '16 | ||
| 1 | Thailand |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 Nov '16 | 6 Sep '16 | 23 Mar '17 | 13 Jun '17 | 31 Aug '17 | — |
First match(es) will be played on 1 September 2016. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
References
- ↑ "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
- ↑ "2018 FIFA World Cup: Asian Qualifying Round 3 line up complete". Asian Football Confederation. 30 March 2016.
- ↑ "Stage set for Russia 2018 Asian Qualifiers Final Round draw". Asian Football Confederation. 10 April 2016.
- ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – April 2016 (AFC)". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ↑ "Iran remain No. 1 in Asia, Australia the big movers". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ↑ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com.
- ↑ "Asia’s hopeful dozen learn final World Cup qualifying opponents". AFC. 12 April 2016.
- ↑ "Australia, Japan to go head-to-head following Asian draw". FIFA.com. 12 April 2016.
External links
- Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – Asia: Round 3, FIFA.com
- FIFA World Cup, the-AFC.com
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