The third round[note 1] of AFC matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was 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 qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced 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
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 Men's 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 directly 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 (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 would 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 10 8 1 1 15 4 +11 25 2022 FIFA World Cup — 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–0
2  South Korea 10 7 2 1 13 3 +10 23 2–0 — 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–0
3  United Arab Emirates 10 3 3 4 7 7 0 12 Fourth round 0–1 1–0 — 2–2 2–0 0–0
4  Iraq 10 1 6 3 6 12 −6 9 0–3 0–3 1–0 — 1–1 0–0
5  Syria 10 1 3 6 9 16 −7 6 0–3 0–2 1–1 1–1 — 2–3
6  Lebanon 10 1 3 6 5 13 −8 6 1–2 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–3 —
Source: FIFA, AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
South Korea 0–0 Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Iran 1–0 Syria
 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 70'
Attendance: 3,034
Iran 1–1 South Korea
Jahanbakhsh 76' Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)		 Son Heung-min 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)
Attendance: 0
Lebanon 0–1 South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 5,400
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Iran 1–0 Iraq
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,354
United Arab Emirates 2–0 Syria
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 2,450
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Lebanon 1–1 Iraq
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,341
Syria 0–2 South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Rashid Stadium, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)[note 6]
Attendance: 310
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
Iran 1–0 United Arab Emirates
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
South Korea 2–0 Iran
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 64,375
Lebanon 0–3 Syria
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 5,422
Iraq 1–0 United Arab Emirates
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 1,320
Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)
Iran 2–0 Lebanon
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 22,453
Referee: Fu Ming (China PR)
United Arab Emirates 1–0 South Korea
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 4,223
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Syria 1–1 Iraq
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Rashid Stadium, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)[note 6]
Attendance: 3,710
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Saudi Arabia 10 7 2 1 12 6 +6 23 2022 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 1–0 1–0 3–2 3–1
2  Japan 10 7 1 2 12 4 +8 22 2–0 — 2–1 0–1 2–0 1–1
3  Australia 10 4 3 3 15 9 +6 15 Fourth round 0–0 0–2 — 3–1 3–0 4–0
4  Oman 10 4 2 4 11 10 +1 14 0–1 0–1 2–2 — 2–0 3–1
5  China 10 1 3 6 9 19 −10 6 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 — 3–2
6  Vietnam 10 1 1 8 8 19 −11 4 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 3–1 —
Source: FIFA, AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Japan 0–1 Oman
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 4,853
Australia 3–0 China
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
Saudi Arabia 3–1 Vietnam
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 8,331
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Vietnam 0–1 Australia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0[note 4]
China 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 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
 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 1–1 Oman
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)[note 9]
Attendance: 1,700
China 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)
Australia 4–0 Vietnam
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 27,740
Japan 2–0 China
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 11,753
Saudi Arabia 1–0 Oman
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 47,364
Japan 2–0 Saudi Arabia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 19,118
Vietnam 3–1 China
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,099
Oman 2–2 Australia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 0
Australia 0–2 Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 41,852
Vietnam 0–1 Oman
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,923
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)
China 1–1 Saudi Arabia
Zhu Chenjie 82' (pen.) Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)		 Al-Shehri 45+1'
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)[note 9]
Attendance: 200
Japan 1–1 Vietnam
Yoshida 55' Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)		 Nguyễn Thanh Bình 19'
Attendance: 44,600
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Oman 2–0 China
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 2,500
Saudi Arabia 1–0 Australia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 51,433

Goalscorers

There were 122 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.03 goals per match.

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 the tournament hosts, but competed in the second round as part of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, the match was played behind closed doors.
  5. 1 2 The Korean FA (South Korea) and Lebanese FA (Lebanon) agreed to switch the order of their home-and-away matches.[9]
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Due to the Syrian civil war, Syria played its home matches at neutral venues.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Due to the security concerns, Iraq played its home matches at neutral venues.
  8. 1 2 Due to the border closures in Australia because of COVID-19 pandemic, Australia played its two home matches at neutral venues.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Due to the quarantine restrictions in China because of COVID-19 pandemic, China played 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 22 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.
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