2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

The second round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification) was played from 24 May 2015 to 29 March 2016.^[1]

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Tournament details
Dates	11 June 2015 – 29 March 2016
Teams	39[note 1] (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	152
Goals scored	507 (3.34 per match)
Attendance	2,293,258 (15,087 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (14 goals)
← 2014 2022 →

Format

A total of forty teams (teams ranked 1–34 in the AFC entrant list and six first round winners) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up advanced to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals.

A total of 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round competed in the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification (which was separated from the third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification), where they were divided into six groups of four teams and competed for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 24 teams consisted of the sixteen highest ranked teams eliminated in the second round, and the eight teams that advanced from the play-off round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification which were contested by the remaining twelve teams eliminated in the second round.^[2]

Seeding

The draw for the second round was held on 14 April 2015, at 17:00 MST (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[3][4]

The seeding was based on the

• Pot 1 contained the teams ranked 1–8.
• Pot 2 contained the teams ranked 9–16.
• Pot 3 contained the teams ranked 17–24.
• Pot 4 contained the teams ranked 25–32.
• Pot 5 contained the teams ranked 33–40.

Each group contained one team from each of the five pots. The fixtures of each group were automatically decided based on the respective pot of each team.

As the seeding order was based on the most recent FIFA Rankings prior to the draw, it differed from the order in the

winners, three were seeded higher than pot 5 (India in pot 3, Timor-Leste and Bhutan in pot 4), on the basis of ranking points gained from the first round matches, while the other three (Yemen, Cambodia and Chinese Taipei) were seeded in pot 5.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3
Iran (40)  Japan (50)  South Korea (57)  Australia (63)  United Arab Emirates (68)[note 2]  Uzbekistan (73)  China (82)  Iraq (86)	Saudi Arabia (95)  Oman (97)  Qatar (99)  Jordan (103)  Bahrain (108)  Vietnam (125)  Syria (126)  Kuwait (127)	Afghanistan (135)  Philippines (139)  Palestine (140)  Maldives (141)  Thailand (142)  Tajikistan (143)  Lebanon (144)  India (147)
Pot 4	Pot 5
East Timor (152)  Kyrgyzstan (153)  North Korea (157)  Myanmar (158)  Turkmenistan (159)  Indonesia (159) (D)  Singapore (162)  Bhutan (163)	Malaysia (164)  Hong Kong (167)  Bangladesh (167)  Yemen (170)  Guam (175)  Laos (178)  Cambodia (179)  Chinese Taipei (179)

Notes

• Bolded teams qualified for the third round.
• (D): Disqualified after draw

Groups

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers

In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[7] Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss) Overall goal difference Overall goals scored Points in matches between tied teams Goal difference in matches between tied teams Goals scored in matches between tied teams Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format) Fair play points first yellow card: minus 1 point indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points direct red card: minus 4 points yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Saudi Arabia	8	6	2	0	28	4	+24	20	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup		—	2–1	3–2	2–0	7–0[a]
2	United Arab Emirates[b]	8	5	2	1	27	4	+23	17			1–1	—	2–0	10–0	8–0
3	Palestine	8	4	2	2	24	5	+19	14	Asian Cup qualifying third round		0–0	0–0	—	6–0	7–0
4	Malaysia	8	2	0	6	7	29	−22	6	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		0–3[c]	1–2	0–6	—	3–0[a]
5	East Timor[a]	8	0	0	8	0	44	−44	0			0–10	0–3[a]	0–3[a]	0–3[a]	—

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	8	7	0	1	29	4	+25	21	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup		—	5–1	3–0	7–0	5–0
2	Jordan	8	5	1	2	21	7	+14	16	Asian Cup qualifying third round		2–0	—	0–0	3–0	8–0
3	Kyrgyzstan	8	4	2	2	10	8	+2	14			1–2	1–0	—	2–2	2–0
4	Tajikistan	8	1	2	5	9	20	−11	5	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		0–3	1–3	0–1	—	5–0
5	Bangladesh	8	0	1	7	2	32	−30	1			0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	—

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Qatar	8	7	0	1	29	4	+25	21	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup		—	1–0	2–0	4–0	15–0
2	China	8	5	2	1	27	1	+26	17			2–0	—	0–0	4–0	12–0
3	Hong Kong	8	4	2	2	13	5	+8	14	Asian Cup qualifying third round		2–3	0–0	—	2–0	7–0
4	Maldives	8	2	0	6	8	20	−12	6	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		0–1	0–3	0–1	—	4–2
5	Bhutan	8	0	0	8	5	52	−47	0			0–3	0–6	0–1	3–4	—

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Iran	8	6	2	0	26	3	+23	20	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup		—	2–0	3–1	6–0	4–0
2	Oman	8	4	2	2	11	7	+4	14	Asian Cup qualifying third round		1–1	—	3–1	1–0	3–0
3	Turkmenistan	8	4	1	3	10	11	−1	13			1–1	2–1	—	1–0	2–1
4	Guam	8	2	1	5	3	16	−13	7			0–6	0–0	1–0	—	2–1
5	India	8	1	0	7	5	18	−13	3	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		0–3[a]	1–2	1–2	1–0	—

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Japan	8	7	1	0	27	0	+27	22	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup		—	5–0	0–0	5–0	3–0
2	Syria	8	6	0	2	26	11	+15	18			0–3	—	1–0	5–2	6–0
3	Singapore	8	3	1	4	9	9	0	10	Asian Cup qualifying third round		0–3	1–2	—	1–0	2–1
4	Afghanistan	8	3	0	5	8	24	−16	9			0–6	0–6	2–1	—	3–0
5	Cambodia	8	0	0	8	1	27	−26	0	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		0–2	0–6	0–4	0–1	—

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Group F

Indonesia was also drawn into this group, but on 30 May 2015 the country's football association was suspended due to governmental interference,^[26] and on 3 June 2015 the team was disqualified and all matches involving it were cancelled.^[27]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Thailand	6	4	2	0	14	6	+8	14	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup		—	2–2	1–0	4–2
2	Iraq	6	3	3	0	13	6	+7	12			2–2	—	1–0	5–1
3	Vietnam	6	2	1	3	7	8	−1	7	Asian Cup qualifying third round		0–3	1–1	—	4–1
4	Chinese Taipei	6	0	0	6	5	19	−14	0	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		0–2	0–2	1–2	—

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	8	8	0	0	27	0	+27	24	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup		—	1–0	3–0[a]	4–0	8–0
2	Lebanon	8	3	2	3	12	6	+6	11	Asian Cup qualifying third round		0–3	—	0–1	1–1	7–0
3	Kuwait	8	3	1	4	12	10	+2	10	Disqualified[a]		0–1	0–0	—	9–0	0–3[a]
4	Myanmar	8	2	2	4	9	21	−12	8	Asian Cup qualifying third round		0–2	0–2	3–0[a]	—	3–1
5	Laos	8	1	1	6	6	29	−23	4	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		0–5	0–2	0–2	2–2	—

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Uzbekistan	8	7	0	1	20	7	+13	21	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup		—	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–0
2	North Korea	8	5	1	2	14	8	+6	16	Asian Cup qualifying third round		4–2	—	0–0	2–0	1–0
3	Philippines	8	3	1	4	8	12	−4	10			1–5	3–2	—	2–1	0–1
4	Bahrain	8	3	0	5	10	10	0	9			0–4	0–1	2–0	—	3–0
5	Yemen	8	1	0	7	2	17	−15	3	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		1–3	0–3[a]	0–2	0–4	—

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Ranking of runner-up teams

To determine the four best runner-up teams, the following criteria were used:

1. Points
   (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Fair play points
5. Drawing of lots

As a result of Indonesia being disqualified by FIFA suspension, Group F contained only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team were not counted when determining the ranking of the runner-up teams.^[38]

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	F	Iraq	6	3	3	0	13	6	+7	12	World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup
2	E	Syria	6	4	0	2	14	11	+3	12
3	A	United Arab Emirates[a]	6	3	2	1	16	4	+12	11
4	C	China	6	3	2	1	9	1	+8	11
5	H	North Korea	6	3	1	2	10	8	+2	10	Asian Cup qualifying third round
6	B	Jordan	6	3	1	2	9	7	+2	10
7	D	Oman	6	2	2	2	6	6	0	8
8	G	Lebanon	6	1	2	3	3	6	−3	5

Ranking of fourth-placed teams

To determine the four best fourth-placed teams, the following criteria were used:

1. Points
   (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Fair play points
5. Drawing of lots

As a result of Indonesia being disqualified by FIFA suspension, Group F contained only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team were not counted when determining the ranking of the fourth-placed teams.^[38]

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	D	Guam	6	1	1	4	1	14	−13	4	Asian Cup qualifying third round
2	G	Myanmar	6	1	1	4	4	18	−14	4
3	H	Bahrain	6	1	0	5	3	10	−7	3
4	E	Afghanistan	6	1	0	5	4	24	−20	3
5	B	Tajikistan	6	0	1	5	3	19	−16	1	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round
6	F	Chinese Taipei	6	0	0	6	5	19	−14	0
7	C	Maldives	6	0	0	6	0	15	−15	0
8	A	Malaysia	6	0	0	6	1	29	−28	0

Goalscorers

There were 507 goals scored in 149 matches, for an average of 3.4 goals per match.

14 goals

11 goals

8 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes

References

1. ^ "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
2. ^ "World Cup draw looms large in Asia". FIFA.com. 13 April 2015. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Completing the tournament's qualifying contenders will be the next 16 highest ranked teams, with the remaining 12 sides battling it out in play-off matches to claim the last eight spots.
3. ^ "Draw date set for Round 2 of 2018 World Cup, 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers". AFC. 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
4. ^ "Draw: Russia 2018 / UAE 2019 Joint Qualification Round 2". AFC. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
5. ^ "FIFA Men's Ranking – April 2015 (AFC)". FIFA.com. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015.
6. ^ "Draw for Russia 2018, UAE 2019 Round 2 qualifiers looms large". AFC. 13 April 2015.
7. ^ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
8. ^ "Federacao Futebol Timor-Leste expelled from AFC Asian Cup 2023". The-AFC.com. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
9. ^ Rashvinjeet S. Bedi; T. Avineshwaran (8 September 2015). "Malaysia-Saudi match abandoned after crowd trouble". The Star. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
10. ^ "Malaysian FA sanctioned after abandonment of FIFA World Cup qualifier". FIFA.com. 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
11. ^ "Federacao Futebol Timor-Leste expelled from AFC Asian Cup 2023". The-AFC.com. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
12. ^ "Palestine and Saudi Arabia agree to swap venues for World Cup qualifier". The National (UAE). 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 30 August 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
13. ^ "World Cup 2018: Palestinians and Saudi Arabia at loggerheads over key game". CNN. 29 September 2015. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
14. ^ "FIFA statement on the Palestine-Saudi Arabia 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier". FIFA.com. 7 October 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015.
15. ^ "Palestine vs Saudi Arabia 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier to be played on 5 November". FIFA.com. 21 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015.
16. ^ ^{a b} "Palestine to play Saudi Arabia and Malaysia on neutral ground". FIFA.com. 4 November 2015. Archived from the original on 5 November 2015.
17. ^ ^{a b} "Amman the venue for Palestine qualifiers". FIFA.com. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015.
18. ^ "S. Korea to travel to Southeast Asia for friendly, World Cup qualifier". Yonhap News Agency. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
19. ^ "VIDEO: Malaysia vs Saudi Arabia halted indefinitely as crowd gets hostile". Fourth Official. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
20. ^ "Malaysian FA sanctioned after abandonment of FIFA World Cup qualifier". FIFA.com. 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
21. ^ "足协公布FIFA确认函 敲定国足客战马代易地沈阳" [FIFA confirmed that the Maldives vs. China match would be played in Shenyang, China] (in Chinese). Sohu. 20 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
22. ^ ^{a b} "DISCIPLINARY OVERVIEW – 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA QUALIFIERS" (PDF). FIFA. 1 February 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2016.
23. ^ ^{a b} Ali Khan, Mir Farhad (29 April 2015). "Crisis-Hit Countries Can Play World Cup Qualifiers in Iran". persianfootball.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
24. ^ "Japan, Singapore approve swapping venues for World Cup qualifiers". The Japan Times. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
25. ^ Pavitt, Michael (26 May 2015). "Japan to play FIFA World Cup away qualification matches against Afghanistan and Syria in neural venues". Inside The Games. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
26. ^ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015.
27. ^ "Impact of Football Association of Indonesia suspension". AFC. 3 June 2015. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
28. ^ "FIFA reschedules Vietnam, Thailand match". Dantri International. 28 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
29. ^ "Myanmar appeal partially upheld". FIFA. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
30. ^ "Qatar agrees to host joint Asian, World Cup qualifiers". Kuwait Times. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
31. ^ ^{a b c} "فيفا يؤكد عدم اقامة مباراة مينمار" (in Arabic). Kuwait Football Association. 9 November 2015. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
32. ^ "Kuwait sanctioned after unplayed FIFA World Cup qualifier". FIFA. 13 January 2016. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
33. ^ ^{a b c} "FIFA sanctions several football associations after discriminatory chants by fans" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
34. ^ ^{a b} "Kuwait's matches against Laos and Korea Republic forfeited". FIFA. 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
35. ^ "Yemen sanctioned for fielding ineligible player". FIFA. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
36. ^ "Yemen sanctioned for fielding ineligible player". FIFA. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015.
37. ^ "Yemen football team flees war by boat to make World Cup 2018 qualifier with North Korea". ibtimes.co.uk. 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
38. ^ ^{a b} "Criteria to Determine the Rankings of Best-placed Teams among the Groups" (PDF). AFC. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.

External links

• Official FIFA World Cup website
  • Qualifiers – Asia: Round 2, FIFA.com
• FIFA World Cup, the-AFC.com
• AFC Asian Cup, the-AFC.com
• Preliminary Joint Qualification 2018 Archived 9 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine, stats.the-AFC.com