The thrilling third round of AFC matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification ending on 29 March 2022 will determine the positionings of AFC World Cup qualifying teams.
Let’s see who can reach Qatar and have a quick bird view over the current situation of the qualifiers.
- Part 1. Who Plays Who on March 24?
- Part 2. Who Has Already Qualified?
- Part 3. Who Else Can Still Qualify?
- Part 4. Who is Already Out of the Running?
Who Plays Who on March 24?
Continued thrilling matches of round 3 will be played on 24 March to secure top spots in the tournament.
Who Has Already Qualified?
The road to the World Cup Qatar 2022 is truly underway. Ahead of the World Cup tournament, the qualification stages are heating up. Goals are the benchmark that you need to know about which teams have qualified for Qatar World Cup 2022.
The places of the teams in the tournament are getting clearer as the map to the finals continues.
Qatar the World Cup host has won group E in the second round but being a host was not required to qualify for the World Cup 2022. Qatar qualified as host on 2 December 2010 Being at top of the group A Iran is the first to secure place in the tournament with 16 points from 6 games.
Iran Qualified as Third Round, Group A, and a top-two finisher on 27 January 2022. South Korea is the third qualified team after Qatar and Iran as Third Round, Group A, and a top-two finisher on 1st February 2022.
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Who Else Can Still Qualify?
Group A has just one spot remaining, the playoff spot. The UAE holds on to this spot currently. Lebanon is 3 points below the playoff spot. There are two remaining matches, Syria at home and then Iran away.
UAE scheduled difficulty is pretty similar, Iraq away and then south Korea at home and this is great news for UAE. The overall World Cup top scorer Ali Mabkhout will be back. Then there’s Iraq who I think could potentially grab the playoff spot on the final day. If Iraq can grab a win at UAE at home, the UAE plays South Korea after and Lebanon of course play Iran and it’s pretty unlikely that we see either of these teams grab points from the top 2.
On the other hand, Iraq’s last match is against last place Syria away. However, Syria again is playing in a neutral venue. There is a problem however, Iraq has not won a single qualifier, all their points have come from draws, and just like Syria they also play their home games at a neutral venue.
With the bottom three eliminated group B is just a battle between the top dogs. No one can be eliminated however every nation is hungry for the two automatic qualification spots. Saudi Arabia’s form has dipped a little after an exceptional start. They drew against Australia last year and were picked apart by the Japanese last window.
Saudi Arabia’s remaining matches are the citizenship merchants at a neutral venue and Australia at home. They will easily beat the People’s Republic of Brazil. So Saud Arabians across the world do not fret.
Japan is on fire with four straight clean sheets and the win against Saudi Arabia the last window has summed up how much this squad has grown. However, they will be without Takehiro Tomiyasu who is a huge part of their defense.
Japan plays Australia away and if they can prevail yet again the automatic spot is theirs. Their last match is against Vietnam at home just in case things don’t go as planned in Sydney.
Australia has a very difficult two matches in front of them, Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away. They will more than likely need to win both matches to steal an automatic spot.
Who is Already Out of the Running?
As we are observing the quickly changing fates of the national teams and while we are looking for which teams will make it to the tournament and which will be left behind some teams have already eliminated this spectacular show that is planned ahead in Qatar.
In group A after losing from UAE by 2-0, Syria has finally lost its last chance to qualify for the tournament with eight games played, two points, and a -8 goal differential (5 scored and 15 conceded). While UAE is struggling to make its way to Qatar.
While in group B three teams have been eliminated until now. Vietnam crushed China by 3-1 and stole its last hope for qualifying for the World Cup. China lost their final chance to make through for the World Cup with five points, eight games played, and a -8 goal differential (8scored and hand over 16).
Oman also is officially out of the competition for qualifying the tournament after a 2-2 draw against Australia with 8 points, 8 games played and -2 goal differential (8 goals and hand over 10).
Vietnam was the first team that was eliminated in the third and final round of the Asian qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup after suffering 7 back-to-back defeats with 8 games played, 3 points, and -10 goal differential (7 scored and hand over 17).
Conclusion
The thrilling competition to win the spot at the tournament is at its peak and the final results of AFC World Cup qualifiers are in their final days. We all are observing these unpredictable changing games patterns and we will also be witnessing the new format where one team each from Asia, Concacaf, South America, and Oceania will compete for two final seats at the World Cup. Those matches are scheduled to be played on June 13-14, 2022.
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