The draw for the second round of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
Follow the Asian Qualifiers Draw LIVE
The 40 Asian countries have been split into five pots and will subsequently be drawn into eight groups of five teams each. The games will be held in a double round-robin format between September 5 and June 9, 2020. India is placed in Pot 3 alongside Palestine, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, Korea DPR, Chinese Taipei and Philippines.
A total of 12 teams, the eight group winners and the four best runners-up, will then advance to the final round of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup to be held in China PR.
The four best teams in the final qualifying round will secure a spot at the World Cup and a fifth team will go to the intercontinental play‑offs.
In the last edition of the Asian Qualifiers, India and Yemen progressed from the first round to the Asian Cup held in UAE earlier this year. Hoping to emulate their success in this edition is Mongolia, which qualified for the second round for the first time in its history. Likewise, Sri Lanka, which last competed in the second round in 2004 as well as Indonesia and Nepal, who return after nearly eight years, will also be eyeing a similar inspiring run against some of Asia’s powerhouses.
AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “The last edition of the qualifying tournament was a resounding success in closing the gap between our Inspiring, Developing and Aspiring nations and also in raising the standards of Asian football.
“The Asian Qualifiers are more inclusive and present our teams with even more opportunities to experience top-level competition than ever before.
“Not only did Asia’s top five teams create history at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 with our best-ever performance in the group stage but the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 also showcased the incredible progress of our emerging nations as fan engagement on digital media and on television surpassed all expectations.
“The focus of world football for the next few years is clearly on Asia and I am confident that our teams will again produce a thrilling and memorable campaign,” he said.
The draw will be broadcast to the Indian audience on DSport from 2.30 pm.
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