2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
The third round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was 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) 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 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.
Qualified teams
| Group (2nd round) |
Winners | Runners-up (Best 4) |
|---|---|---|
| A |  Saudi Arabia |
 United Arab Emirates |
| B | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 were based on the FIFA World Rankings of April 2016 (shown in parentheses below).[4] The 12 teams were 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 contained one team from each of the six pots. The fixtures of each group were automatically decided based on the respective pot of each team.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Italicised teams qualified for the fourth round.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
| |
| Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
|
Groups
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
|---|
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[6]
|
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran |
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 22 | Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | South Korea |
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 15 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | ||
| 3 | Syria |
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 13 | Advance to fourth round | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | |
| 4 | Uzbekistan |
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 13 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | China PR |
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 12 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | ||
| 6 | Qatar |
10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 7 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — |
| South Korea | 3–2 | China PR |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Attendance: 51,238
| Iran | 2–0 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Syria | 0–0 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 4,350
Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)
| South Korea | 3–2 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| South Korea | 2–1 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Syria | 1–0 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 350
| Qatar | 0–1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iran | 1–0 | China PR |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Syria | 2–2 | China PR |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 4,737
Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)
| Syria | 3–1 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Qatar | 1–2 | China PR |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Iran | 2–2 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan |
10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 20 | Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia |
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 19 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Australia |
10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 19 | Advance to fourth round | 1–1 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates |
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 13 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 5 | Iraq |
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 11 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 6 | Thailand |
10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 24 | −18 | 2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Japan | 2–1 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iraq | 4–0 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Saudi Arabia | 3–0 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Iraq | 1–1 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Attendance: 3,270
Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)
| Thailand | 0–3 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Australia | 3–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Thailand | 1–1 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iraq | 1–1 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Thailand | 1–2 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iraq | 1–0 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 2,185
Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)
Goalscorers
There were 129 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.15 goals per match.
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Tim Cahill
- Jackson Irvine
- Massimo Luongo
- Tom Rogic
- Trent Sainsbury
- Hao Junmin
- Wu Lei
- Wu Xi
- Xiao Zhi
- Yu Dabao
- Yu Hai
- Reza Ghoochannejhad
- Jalal Hosseini
- Alireza Jahanbakhsh
- Ayman Hussein
- Mahdi Kamil
- Justin Meram
- Ahmed Yasin
- Keisuke Honda
- Yosuke Ideguchi
- Shinji Kagawa
- Hiroshi Kiyotake
- Yasuyuki Konno
- Shinji Okazaki
- Yuya Osako
- Hotaru Yamaguchi
- Maya Yoshida
- Ali Assadalla
- Sebastián Soria
- Salem Al-Dawsari
- Taisir Al-Jassim
- Salman Al-Moasher
- Nasser Al-Shamrani
- Omar Hawsawi
- Hong Jeong-ho
- Hwang Hee-chan
- Ji Dong-won
- Lee Chung-yong
- Nam Tae-hee
- Son Heung-min
- Ahmad Al Salih
- Omar Al Somah
- Tamer Haj Mohamad
- Pokklaw Anan
- Tana Chanabut
- Mongkol Tossakrai
- Ismail Matar
- Odil Ahmedov
- Alexander Geynrikh
- Egor Krimets
- Otabek Shukurov
- 1 own goal
- Zheng Zhi (playing against South Korea)
- Ahmad Ibrahim (playing against Thailand)
- Tanaboon Kesarat (playing against Saudi Arabia)
Notes
- Syria played their home matches outside Syria due to security concerns from the Syrian Civil War.
- The kickoff of the Syria v Iran match was originally at 20:00 local time but was delayed by 45 minutes due to heavy rain.[7]
- Iraq played their home matches in Iran due to security concerns from the Iraqi Civil War. However, due to Saudi Arabia's refusal to play in Iran after the attack on their diplomatic missions in Iran, the first match was played in Malaysia.[8] Also, due to United Arab Emirates' refusal to play in Iran after the diplomatic crisis in Qatar, the final match was played in Jordan.
- The Australia v Saudi Arabia match was brought forward from 13 June 2017 due to Australia's participation in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.[9]
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. Archived from the original on 12 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.
- "Iran hold by Syria in FIFA World Cup qualifier". Tehran Times. 15 November 2016.
- "AFC deny Iraq's demand to play Saudi Arabia in Iran". Goal.com. 29 April 2016.
- "Australia, Japan to go head-to-head following Asian draw". FIFA.com. 12 April 2016.
- "Football: FIFA replaces Qatari referee for UAE World Cup qualifier; Singaporean steps in".
External links
- Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – Asia: Round 3, FIFA.com
- FIFA World Cup, the-AFC.com
- FIFA World Cup 2018, stats.the-AFC.com
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