The second round of Asian qualifying is now underway for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and is set to be completed in June 2020. The qualifying process for the AFC teams has multiple rounds and won’t finally come to an end until November 2021, so there are bound to be twists and turns on the road to Qatar.
Here we're taking a look at the qualifying process, what's happened so far, and which teams are looking like favourites to progress into the next round.
The rounds
The first round took place in June 2019 and involved the 12 teams ranked 35-46. Games were played over two legs with the six match winners progressing to the second round.
Now we're onto the second round, this process is going to take around nine months with eight groups of five teams and the bigger players joining the party. Format-wise, the fixtures will feature round-robin matches both home and away. Once this process comes to an end on 9 June 2020, it's the eight group winners and the four group runners-up with the most points/better goal difference who will progress to the third round of qualification.
Not only will these teams move through to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, they'll also qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup finals.
Due to the fact Qatar automatically qualify for the championship, if they finish in one of these top qualifying positions, it will be the fifth-best runners-up who will take their spot in the third round. On early form, this might well grant a second chance for a team that might otherwise miss out.
These qualifying nations will then have a three-month break from the competition as the next stage of Asian qualifying will begin in September 2020.
This third round then consists of the 12 remaining teams in two groups of six. Automatic qualification for the 2022 World Cup will be awarded to the first two teams in each group and the two third-placed teams will battle it out in the fourth round to advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
The format of the inter-confederation play-offs is yet to be announced but these 'final chance' games are to be played in March 2022. There’s a long way to go, therefore, and plenty of chance to shine as the next World Cup approaches.
Who's looking strong so far?
It was China, Kuwait, Bahrain, Singapore, Qatar, Tajikistan, Thailand and North Korea topping their groups in September, but it's important to keep in mind that not every team has yet played twice.
Looking at Group C's Iran and Group F's Japan, both sides are second in their groups having played one, won one and kept clean sheets in the process. Clinical, professional results from two teams to keep a close eye on as the competition progresses.
On 10 September Iran beat Hong Kong 2-0 with forwards Karim Ansarifard and Sardar Azmoun both scoring to get the nation off to a flying start.
It was also a 2-0 win for Japan against Myanmar on the same date with goals coming from Takumi Minamino and Shoya Nakajima.
The leading goalscorer in the qualifying so far is the Sudanese-born Qatar forward Almoez Ali - the host nation are looking strong so far and the striker is certainly one to watch after his three-goal start.
While Qatar’s progress is guaranteed, you wouldn’t be surprised to see Japan and Iran joining them in the tournament if they can avoid slip-ups against lesser-ranked opponents. Keep up to date with everything going on in qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, on the official website as the fascinating rounds unfold.