Asia Qualifying Structure

ASIA (AFC) QUALIFYING

Teams Participating: 43 (20 remaining)
WC Finals Slots Allocated: 4.5
2010 Finals Participants:
Australia (3rd Group D, 1-1-1, 3 GF, 6 GA)
Japan (Round of 16 (2nd Group E), 2-1-1, 4 GF, 2 GA)
North Korea (4th Group G, 0-3-0, 1 GF, 12 GA)
South Korea (Round of 16 (2nd Group B), 1-2-1, 6 GF, 8 GA)

Looking Back at 2010

Two notable events occurred in Asian qualifying in 2010. The first was the arrival of Australia in the AFC from the OFC. Australia received a bye to Round 3 and won their groups in both Rounds 3 and 4 to qualify comfortably. The second was the fall of a pair of a traditional Asian powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Paired in the same group with a quality South Korean side, both teams were stunned by North Korea who managed to qualify ahead of both teams, sending Saudi Arabia to a continental playoff and eliminating Iran completely. Saudi Arabia would then fall to Bahrain in the AFC playoff. Both teams will be looking for revenge in this qualifying stage as they've become accustomed to seeing themselves in the World Cup Finals.

Structure for 2014

The qualifying procedure has been tweaked slightly but is in essence the same as last time around. Rounds 3 and 4 will consist of 20 and 10 teams respectively, 5 groups of 4 for the former and 2 groups of 5 for the latter, same as in 2010 qualifying.

The change is in Rounds 1 and 2, which have already been contested. For 2010, like for 2014, the top 5 teams in Asia received byes to Round 3. For 2014, these were the top 5 finishers in 2010 qualifying (the aforementioned finals participants and Bahrain). For 2010 qualifying, all other teams were required to take part in Round 1, resulting in 19 first round 2-leg matchups. The 11 highest ranked Round 1 winners advanced to Round 3, while the remaining 8 Round 1 winners repeated the same process in Round 2, to make the field of 20 in Round 3.

For 2014, the order of Rounds 1 and 2 were reversed. Round 1 is smaller and featuring the lowest ranked teams, with the winners advancing to face the higher ranked teams in the larger 2nd Round.

Round 1 featured 8 2-leg matchups, with the winners advancing to Round 2, and the losers being eliminated. Round 2 featured 15 2-leg matchups, with the winners advancing to Round 3, and the losers being eliminated. Round 3 features 5 groups of 4 teams, playing a double round-robin with the group winners and runners-up advancing to Round 4. Round 4 will feature 2 groups of 5 teams, playing a double round-robin, with the group winners and runners-up qualifying for the 2014 Finals. The 3rd-place teams in each group will face each other in a 2-leg playoff with the winner advancing to an inter-confederational playoff against the 5th-place South American team. The winner of that playoff will also qualify for the World Cup.

The Seeding

Advanced to Round 3:

1. Japan
2. South Korea
3. Australia
4. North Korea
5. Bahrain

Advanced to Round 2:

6. Saudi Arabia
7. Iran
8. Qatar
9. Uzbekistan
10. United Arab Emirates
11. Syria
12. Oman
13. Jordan
14. Iraq
15. Singapore
16. China
17. Kuwait
18. Thailand
19. Turkmenistan
20. Lebanon
21. Yemen
22. Tajikistan
23. Hong Kong
24. Indonesia
25. Kyrgyzstan
26. Maldives
27. India

Round 1 Participants:

28. Malaysia
29. Afghanistan
30. Cambodia
31. Nepal
32. Bangladesh
33. Sri Lanka
34. Vietnam
35. Mongolia
36. Pakistan
37. Palestine
38. East Timor
39. Macau
40. Chinese Taipei
41. Myanmar
42. Philippines
43. Laos

Round 1

Round 1 was comprised of 8 pairings, consisting of the 16 lowest seeded teams in Asian qualifying. The games were played between June 29, 2011 and July 3, 2011. Results are as follows.

Pairing 1-MALAYSIA 4-4 CHINESE TAIPEI

Game 1-Malaysia def. Chinese Taipei 2-1 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• Malaysia Goals-Mohd Safiq Rahim (28'), Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak (55')
  
• Chinese Taipei Goals-Chen Po-Liang (77')
  

Game 2-Chinese Taipei def. Malaysia 3-2 in Taipei, Taiwan

• Malaysia Goals-Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak (8'), Mohd Safiq Rahim (40')
  
• Chinese Taipei Goals-Chang Han (31'), Chen Po-Liang (44'), Xavier Chen (75')
  

After 2 legs, the score was tied 4-4. The first tiebreaker for a 2-leg pairing is away goals. As Malaysia scored 2 away goals compared to Chinese Taipei's 1, Malaysia was the winner of the pairing, eliminating Chinese Taipei.

Pairing 2-BANGLADESH 3-0 PAKISTAN

Game 1-Bangladesh def. Pakistan 3-0 in Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Bangladesh Goals-Jahid Hasan Ameli (1'), Mohamed Zahid Hossain (22'), Rezaul Karim (56')

Game 2-Pakistan 0-0 Bangladesh from Lahore, Pakistan

Bangladesh was victorious 3-0 in aggregate in this regional matchup, advancing to Round 2, while Pakistan was eliminated.

Pairing 3-LAOS 8-6 CAMBODIA

Game 1-Cambodia def. Laos 4-2 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

• Cambodia Goals-Khoun Laboravy (51'), Sam El Nasa (57',88'), Sokumpheak Kouch (67')
• Laos Goals-Manolom Phomsouvanh (9',59')

Game 2-Laos def. Cambodia 4-2 in Vientiane, Laos

• Cambodia Goals-Chhin Chhoeun (45'), Sokumpheak Kouch (75')
• Laos Goals-Lamnao Singto (19',55'), Khampheng Sayavutthi (31'), Souliya Syphasay (47')

As the aggregate was tied at 6 with both teams recording 2 away goals, a 30-minute extra time period was played immediately following Game 2. Laos scored twice in extra time on goals from Visay Phaphouvanin and Sysomvang Kanlaya, to make the final score of the pairing 8-6 and to advance to Round 2, eliminating Cambodia.

Pairing 4-PHILIPPINES 5-1 SRI LANKA

Game 1-Philippines 1-1 Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka

• Philippines Goals-Nate Burkey (50')
• Sri Lanka Goals-Chathura Gunarathna (43')

Game 2-Philippines def. Sri Lanka 4-0 in Manila, Philippines

• Philippines Goals-Emelio Caligdong (19'), Phil Younghusband (43',57'), Angel Guirado (51')

The 4-0 win in Game 2 secured advancement for Philippines, eliminating Sri Lanka.

Pairing 5-PALESTINE 3-1 AFGHANISTAN

Game 1-Palestine def. Afghanistan 2-0 in Tursunzoda, Tajikistan

• Palestine Goals-Murad Alyan (28'), Ismail Amour (89')

Game 2-Palestine 1-1 Afghanistan in Al-Ram, Palestine

• Palestine Goals-Houssam Wadi (11')
• Afghanistan Goals-Bilal Arezou (63')

Palestine's 3-1 win advanced them to Round 2, eliminating Afghanistan. Game 1 was played in Tajikistan as a result of ongoing security instability in Afghanistan. Game 2 was the first ever competitive game played at home for Palestine.

Pairing 6-VIETNAM 13-1 MACAU

Game 1-Vietnam def. Macau 6-0 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

• Vietnam Goals-Cong Vinh Le (19',36',39'), Thanh Luong Pham (62'), Nguyen Ngoc Thanh (67'), Nguyen Van Quyet (87')

Game 2-Vietnam def. Macau 7-1 in Macau

• Vietnam Goals-Quang Thanh Huynh (3',86'), Nguyen Quang Hai (24'), Cong Vinh Le (29',43',75',82')
• Macau Goals-Leong Ka Hang (60')

In the most lopsided pairing of qualifying so far, Vietnam advanced to Round 2 by defeating Macau 13-1 on aggregate. Cong Vinh Le's 7 goals in this pairing propelled him to the top of the goal scoring chart for qualifying, a position he presently maintains.

Pairing 7-NEPAL 7-1 EAST TIMOR

Game 1-Nepal def. East Timor 2-1 in Kathmandu, Nepal

• Nepal Goals-Anil Gurung (15'), Manu Rai Ju (70')
• East Timor Goals- Joao Pereira (47')

Game 2-Nepal def. East Timor 5-0 in Kathmandu, Nepal

• Nepal Goals-Anil Gurung (3'), Bhola Silwal (56'), Manu Rai Ju (60'), Jagjit Shrestha (89'), Sujal Shrestha (90')

Nepal advanced to Round 2 with the 7-1 victory. As East Timor possesses no suitable home facilities, they elected to play their home leg (Game 2) in Kathmandu.

Pairing 8-MYANMAR 2-1 MONGOLIA

Game 1-Mongolia def. Myanmar 1-0 in Ulaan-Baatar, Mongolia

• Mongolia Goals-Khurelbaatar Tsend-Ayush (48')

Game 2-Myanmar def. Mongolia 2-0 in Yangon, Myanmar

• Myanmar Goals-Pai Soe (61'), Mai Aih Naing (85')

Mai Aih Naing's late goal in Game 2 gave Myanmar the 2-1 edge necessary to win the pairing and advance to Round 2.

Round 2

Round 2 was comprised of 15 pairings, consisting of the 30 lowest seeded remaining teams in Asian qualifying. The games were played between July 23, 2011 and July 28, 2011. Results are as follows.

Pairing 1-THAILAND 3-2 PALESTINE

Game 1-Thailand def. Palestine 1-0 in Buriram, Thailand

• Thailand Goals-Jakkraphan Kaewprom (19')

Game 2-Palestine 2-2 Thailand in Al-Ram, Palestine

• Palestine Goals-Murad Alyan (6',90')
• Thailand Goals-Datsakorn Thonglao (33',90+5')

Thailand advanced to Round 3 with a 3-2 win on aggregate. Regardless of the late equalizing goal in Game 2, Thailand had been poised to advance anyway on the strength of their away goal advantage.

Pairing 2-LEBANON 4-2 BANGLADESH

Game 1-Lebanon def. Bangladesh 4-0 in Beirut, Lebanon

• Lebanon Goals-Hassan Maatouk (16'), Mahmoud El Ali (27'), Ali Al Saadi (55'), Tarek El Ali (64')

Game 2-Bangladesh def. Lebanon 2-0 in Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Bangladesh Goals-Mithun Chowdhury (52'), Jahid Hasan Ameli (87')

Lebanon's 4 goals in Game 1 were enough of an advantage to advance them to Round 3, while Bangladesh was eliminated.

Pairing 3-CHINA 13-3 LAOS

Game 1-China def. Laos 7-2 in Kunming, China

• China Goals-Xu Yang (45+2',54',72'), Tao Chen (52',88'), Junmin Hao (82',90+1')
• Laos Goals-Soukaphone Vongchiengkham (4'), Visay Phaphouvanin (31')

Game 2-China def. Laos 6-1 in Vientiane, Laos

• China Goals-Bo Qu (24'), Hanchao Yu (36',88'), Zhuoxiang Deng (67',83'), Xu Yang (90+2')
• Laos Goals-Visay Phaphouvanin (47')

China's offensive outburst was more then enough to overwhelm Laos and advance them to Round 3.

Pairing 4-INDONESIA 5-4 TURKMENISTAN

Game 1-Indonesia 1-1 Turkmenistan in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

• Indonesia Goals-Muhammad Ilham (29')
• Turkmenistan Goals-Vyacheslav Krendelev (11')

Game 2-Indonesia def. Turkmenistan 4-3 in Jakarta, Indonesia

• Indonesia Goals-Cristian Gonzales (10',18'), Mohammed Nasuha (42'), Muhammad Ridwan (76')
• Turkmenistan Goals-Arslanmurad Amanov (70'), Berdy Shamuradov (83'), Gahrymanberdy Chonkaev (86')

Despite a furious late rally by Turkmenistan in Game 2, Indonesia was able to hang on and capture the pairing on a 5-4 aggregate, advancing to Round 3.

Pairing 5-KUWAIT 5-1 PHILIPPINES

Game 1-Kuwait def. Philippines 3-0 in Hawalli, Kuwait

• Kuwait Goals-Yousef Nasser (16'), Musaed Neda (68'), Fahad Al-Ibrahim (84')

Game 2-Kuwait def. Philippines 2-1 in Manila, Philippines

• Kuwait Goals-Yousef Nasser (61'), Waleed Ali (85')
• Philippines Goals-Stephan Schrock (45+3')

Kuwait controlled both games in qualifying and comfortably advanced to Round 3, eliminating Philippines.

Pairing 6-OMAN 4-0 MYANMAR

Game 1-Oman def. Myanmar 2-0 in Muscat, Oman

• Oman Goals-Amad Ali (22'), Ismail Al-Ajmi (79')

Game 2-Oman def, Myanmar 2-0 in Yangon, Myanmar

• Oman Goals-Amad Ali (22'), Ismail Al-Ajmi (39')

Game 2 of this match was abandoned just before halftime, after Myanmar supporters began peppering the field with bottles and flares. Given the scoreline of the aggregate was comfortably in Oman's favour and Myanmar supporters were at fault, FIFA has elected to let the 2-0 scoreline be final and advance Oman to Round 3.

Pairing 7-SAUDI ARABIA 8-0 HONG KONG

Game 1-Saudi Arabia def. Hong Kong 3-0 in Dammam, Saudi Arabia

• Saudi Arabia Goals-Nasser Al-Shamrani (45+1',47'), Osama Al-Muwallad (45+3')

Game 2-Saudi Arabia def. Hong Kong 5-0 in Hong Kong

• Saudi Arabia Goals-Hassan Fallatah (34'), Mohammed Noor (71'), Nasser Al-Shamrani (73'), Mohammed Al-Sahlawi (78'), Osama Hawsawi (90+2')

Traditional power Saudi Arabia had no trouble dealing with Hong Kong and advanced to Round 3.

Pairing 8-IRAN 5-0 MALDIVES

Game 1-Iran def. Maldives 4-0 in Tehran, Iran

• Iran Goals-Karim Ansarifard (4',61'), Ali Karimi (68'), Saeid Daghighi (86')

Game 2-Iran def. Maldives 1-0 in Male, Maldives

• Iran Goals-Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (45')

A little surprising that the margin of victory wasn't higher in this pair. Iran will look to improve in Round 3 as it tries to get back to the Cup Finals.

Pairing 9-SYRIA 6-1 TAJIKISTAN

Game 1-Syria def. Tajikistan 2-1 in Amman, Jordan

• Syria Goals-George Mourad (45+1'), Raja Rafe (77')
• Tajikistan Goals-Kamil Saidov (47')

Game 2-Syria def. Tajikistan 4-0 in Tursunzoda, Tajikistan

• Syria Goals-Raja Rafe (6',35'), Nadim Sabagh (53'), George Mourad (86')

Impressive showing by Syria against a worthy opponent, especially since they did not play at home. Syria's home leg was played in Jordan because of ongoing political instability in Syria.

Pairing 10-QATAR 4-2 VIETNAM

Game 1-Qatar def. Vietnam 3-0 in Doha, Qatar

• Qatar Goals-Mohammed Kasola (6'), Meshal Mubarak (51'), Yousef Ahmad (68')

Game 2-Vietnam def. Qatar 2-1 in Hanoi, Vietnam

• Vietnam Goals-Nguyen Trong Hoang (60'), Nguyen Quang Hai (78')
• Qatar Goals-Yousef Ahmad (16')

Qatar was challenged little in this matchup but probably would have liked winning by a larger margin. Qatar is a team to keep an eye on for the next decade to see how their program grows in advance of the 2022 World Cup, being held in Qatar.

Pairing 11-IRAQ 2-0 YEMEN

Game 1-Iraq def. Yemen 2-0 in Arbil, Iraq

• Iraq Goals-Hawar Mulla Mohammed (9'), Alaa Abdul-Zahra (63')

Game 2-Iraq 0-0 Yemen in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Iraq has consistently put a strong team on the field in the past 5 years and looks to continue that in qualifying. Being able to play at home is a luxury not afforded to them in the past couple qualifying campaigns. Yemen played it's home game in the Emirates, as a result of ongoing political instability in the country.

Pairing 12-SINGAPORE 6-4 MALAYSIA

Game 1-Singapore def. Malaysia 5-3 in Jalan Besar, Singapore

• Singapore Goals-Aleksandar Duric (7',81'), Qiu Li (22'), Mustafic Fahrudin (44'), Jiayi Shi (45+1')
• Malaysia Goals-Mohd Safee Mohd Sali (1',71'), Abdul Hadi Yahya (70')

Game 2-Singapore 1-1 Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• Singapore Goals-Jiayi Shi (73')
• Malaysia Goals-Mohd Safee Mohd Sali (58')

From a fan standpoint, the best pairing of qualifying so far. These neighbours and rivals fought two back-and-forth games that was only settled when Jiayi Shi scored late in Game 2 to put things out of reach for Malaysia.

Pairing 13-UZBEKISTAN 7-0 KYRGYZSTAN

Game 1-Uzbekistan def. Kyrgyzstan 4-0 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

• Uzbekistan Goals-Alexandr Geynrikh (28'), Marat Bikmaev (49'), Server Djeparov (56'), Ulugbek Bakaev (90+2')

Game 2-Uzbekistan def. Kyrgyzstan 3-0 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

• Uzbekistan Goals-Victor Karpenko (47'), Bahodir Nasimov (65',90')

Unlike Pairing 12, this regional pairing was not close at all. Uzbekistan overpowered it's Central Asian rival and easily advanced to Round 3. Uzbekistan was a semifinalist at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup and is a dark-horse threat to qualify out of Asia in this qualifying campaign.

Pairing 14-UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 5-2 INDIA

Game 1-United Arab Emirates def. India 3-0 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

• UAE Goals-Hamdan Al Kamali (21'), Mohamed Al Shehhi (29'), Ismail Al Hammadi (82')

Game 2-United Arab Emirates 2-2 India in New Delhi, India

• UAE Goals-Mohamed Al Shehhi (39'), Ali Al Wehaibi (71')
• India Goals-Jeje Lalpekhula (73'), Gouramangi Singh (90+2')

The scoresheet does not accurately reflect the tale of this pairing. Al Kamali and Al Shehhi's goals in Game 1 both came on penalties off of 2 separate expulsions for India, including their starting goalkeeper Paul Subrata. Looking at the 150+ minutes after the 2nd goal, the aggregate score was 3-2 UAE, 60 of those minutes being up 2 men. India has nothing to be ashamed of with this result against a stronger opponent.

Pairing 15-JORDAN 10-1 NEPAL

Game 1-Jordan def. Nepal 9-0 in Amman, Jordan

• Jordan Goals-Hassan Abdel Fattah (10',74',84',90+3'), Amer Deeb (23',57'), Ahmad Hayel (32',68'), Abdullah Deeb (45+1')

Game 2-Jordan 1-1 Nepal in Kathmandu, Nepal

• Jordan Goals-Saeed Morjan (62')
• Nepal Goals-Bharat Khawas (80')

Give credit to Nepal, not many teams could cover from a 9-0 beatdown to tie 5 days later. Easy round for Jordan.

Round 1

Round 3 is comprised of 5 groups of 4 teams, consisting of the 5 highest seeded teams in Asian qualifying, and the 15 winners from Round 2. Games are scheduled to be played between September 2, 2011, and February 29, 2012. The groups are as follows:

Group 1



Analysis: A great draw for China, whose strong play in recent months had them placed in Pot A of the qualifying draw, allowing them to avoid teams like Australia, Japan and South Korea. Iraq and Jordan will be an intriguing regional matchup while Singapore will be trying to grab points wherever possible, as they are likely the bottom-feeder in Group 1.

Prediction: China should have no problem getting through in this group. I also like Iraq to top Jordan and Singapore. Iraq has a strong side, that won the Asian Cup not long ago. Being able to play home games in Iraq will only help them. Look for Jordan to be the primary challenger for a top 2 spot.

Group 2



Analysis: One thing is certain, the Arab nations won't have to spend much on air travel in this group. Kuwait and UAE represent the Arabian Peninsula in this group and are joined by fellow Middle East nation Lebanon. South Korea is the regional outsider, and while they are the strongest team, you have to wonder if the constant trips they'll have to make across Asia will take a toll on them. This is a tough group, Korea is coming off a Round of 16 performance in South Africa, Kuwait and UAE are top 15 teams in Asia and Lebanon is a threat to anyone when playing well.

Prediction: South Korea has too much of a talent advantage to stumble in this group. Who finishes second is a huge question. You could honestly pull a team out of a hat, when you have three quality regional teams facing off against each other. I'd be tempted to favour UAE who went to Round 4 last time around, but they were less then impressive in Round 2 against India. Look for Kuwait to emerge as the runner-up in this group.

Group 3



Analysis: Wow. 'Group of Death' is a term typically reserved for the Finals but as far as Round 3 Asian qualifying goes, this is it. 46 nations in Asia, the lowest ranked team in this group is North Korea at #16. And they're coming off a Finals appearance in 2010. Japan and Uzbekistan will be favoured to advance but North Korea's defensive style can be a nightmare to play against and should muddy the waters for all teams. Last games for this group are in February 2012, and look for the group be decided on that day only.

Prediction: Japan is the best team in Asia and while they won't like their group, they'll get enough points to emerge from it. I made my affinity for Uzbekistan known earlier and I feel they do have the second-best team in the group. But they'll need to pick up 4 or more points from North Korea in order to have a shot at advancing. Syria should find themselves in the basement of Group 3.

Group 4



Analysis: Group 4 is the exact opposite of Group 3. Little intrigue as their exists a clear-cut divide in talent between the top and bottom. Australia and Saudi Arabia's meetings should at least provide could spectating for soccer fans.

Prediction: Australia and Saudi Arabia advance. Order they finish depends on their results against each other.

Group 5



Analysis: Not the same big-name power as Group 3 but maybe an even tougher group to get out of with 3 teams in Asia's top 11. Iran struggled against Maldives in Round 2 but is still a force in the Asian zone. Qatar has risen to 7th in Asia recently with Bahrain right behind them, having come a single goal away from a 2010 Finals appearance. One of those three teams will be headed home earlier then they'd like or expect.

Prediction: Iran has too much talent and quality coaching under Carlos Queiroz to fall this early in qualifying. They'll have some speed bumps to deal with but should get out of this group. Whether Bahrain or Qatar joins them is up in the air. The Arabian Gulf neighbours are very similar in playing style and talent and will play each other very close. Bahrain has the experience from last qualifying campaign, while Qatar has momentum. I'll side with momentum.

Summary

Down to Round 3 and 20 teams, it becomes clearer which teams should find themselves standing at the end of Asian qualifying. Who eventually does qualify will depend on Round 4's groups, which will be drawn after Round 3 concludes. The one certainty though is that once Round 4 begins, teams will have their eyes on those top 2 slots in each group which earn automatic spots in Brazil. Because a playoff against the 5th best in South America looms for Asia's 5th place finisher, and that is not a promising prospect for the AFC.