2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) section of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was allocated four assured qualifying berths for the final tournament in South Africa, and one place in a play-off. 43 teams were in the running for these spots; Laos, Brunei and the Philippines did not attempt to qualify. This was the first time Timor-Leste competed in World Cup qualification and the first time Australia attempted to qualify for the World Cup as a member of the AFC, having moved from the Oceania Football Confederation at the start of 2006.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Tournament details
Teams43 (from 1 confederation)
Qualification for
championships (AFC)
Iran vs South Korea
Uzbekistan vs Bahrain
Uzbekistan vs Japan 2009

Asia's four automatic qualifying berths were taken by Australia, Japan and both North and South Korea, all of them from East Asia. Bahrain failed to become a fifth Asian representative in the World Cup after losing their AFC/OFC playoff against New Zealand. No Middle East nation qualified for the World Cup, the first time since 1974.

Seeding

The initial seeding (used in the draw for the first two rounds) was based on each team's performance during the qualification stage for the previous World Cup.[1] The admission of Australia to the AFC complicated matters slightly (as they had not taken part in the previous AFC qualification cycle, but had progressed to the World Cup finals in Germany - and had advanced further than the AFC qualifiers).

Initially, the AFC placed Australia as the first seed even though this contradicted the letter of the seeding - past practice (such as adopted by the AFC in the draw for the qualification to the 2008 Olympic Football Tournament) would have seeded Australia last.

By the time of the main qualification draw in Durban (which included the AFC third round), the seeding had been adjusted to rank the top 5 AFC nations according to their performance in the World Cup Final Tournament (of 2006). This resulted in minor changes to the seeding at that point.

Seeding for the first two rounds

Teams ranked 1–5 received a bye from the first two knockout rounds and are entered into the third round.
Teams ranked 6–43 entered at the first round, with teams ranked from 6–24 drawn against teams ranked from 25–43.
Of the first round winners, the eight lowest remaining seeds would go on to play in the second round. The other teams would receive a bye to the third round.[2]

Top Seeds
(Ranked 1st to 5th)		 Pot A
(Ranked 6th to 24th)		 Pot B
(Ranked 25th to 43rd)
  • Guam and Bhutan withdrew after the draw, but before playing any matches.

First round
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round

The official draw took place on 6 August 2007 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Teams from Pot A were randomly paired with a team from Pot B.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Pakistan  0–7  Iraq 0–7 0–01
Uzbekistan  11–0  Chinese Taipei 9–0 2–0
Thailand  13–2  Macau 6–1 7–1
Sri Lanka  0–6  Qatar 0–1 0–5
China PR  11–0  Myanmar 7–0 4–04
Bhutan  w/o2  Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan  2–2
(5–6 pens)		  Jordan 2–0 0–2 (aet)
Vietnam  0–6  United Arab Emirates 0–1 0–5
Bahrain  4–1  Malaysia 4–1 0–0
Timor-Leste  3–11  Hong Kong 2–35 1–8
Syria  5–1  Afghanistan 3–0 2–11
Yemen  3–2  Maldives 3–0 0–2
Bangladesh  1–6  Tajikistan 1–1 0–5
Mongolia  2–9  North Korea 1–4 1–5
Oman  4–0    Nepal 2–0 2–0
Palestine  0–7  Singapore 0–41 0–36
Lebanon  6–3  India 4–1 2–2
Cambodia  1–5  Turkmenistan 0–1 1–4
Guam  w/o3  Indonesia
  1. ^ For security reasons, Iraq played their home leg in Syria, Palestine played their home leg in Qatar and Afghanistan played their home leg in Tajikistan.[3]
  2. ^ Bhutan withdrew.[4]
  3. ^ Guam withdrew.[5]
  4. ^ FIFA decided to move Myanmar home match to Malaysia.[6]
  5. ^ Timor-Leste elected to play their home leg in Indonesia.
  6. ^ Palestine failed to appear; Singapore was awarded a 3–0 win. The Palestine Football Federation appealed to have the match rescheduled on the grounds that its players did not receive permits to leave the Gaza Strip, but FIFA dismissed the appeal.[7]

Second round
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Of the nineteen teams that progressed from the first round, the eight lowest seeded teams by FIFA rankings were required to play in the second round (the other eleven teams received a bye to the third round). As with the first round the draw took place on 6 August 2007 at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

As the teams involved were not known at the time, the draw placed teams ranked 16-19 against teams ranked 12-15. The ties drawn were

  • 17th against 14th
  • 16th against 12th
  • 18th against 13th
  • 19th against 15th
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Hong Kong  0–3  Turkmenistan 0–0 0–3
Indonesia  1–11  Syria 1–4 0–7
Singapore  3–1  Tajikistan 2–0 1–1
Yemen  1–2  Thailand 1–1 0–1

Third round
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round

The top 5 seeds were joined by the eleven highest-ranked winners from the first round and the four second round winners.

Qualified teams
Byes to Round 3 Top 11 Round 1 winners Round 2 winners
  1.  Australia
  2.  South Korea
  3.  Saudi Arabia
  4.  Japan
  5.  Iran
  1.  Bahrain
  2.  Uzbekistan
  3.  Kuwait1
  4.  North Korea
  5.  China PR
  6.  Jordan
  7.  Iraq
  8.  Lebanon
  9.  Oman
  10.  United Arab Emirates
  11.  Qatar
  1.  Syria
  2.  Thailand
  3.  Turkmenistan
  4.  Singapore

1 On 30 October 2007, the Kuwait Football Association was suspended from international football competitions by FIFA. On 9 November 2007, Kuwait was conditionally reinstated to international football competitions by FIFA.[8]

Seeding

These 20 teams were drawn into five groups of four teams at the main group draw in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007. The seeding for the main draw was the same for the first two rounds, with the exception that the five seeded nations (those that qualified for the 2006 finals) were ordered on the basis of results in the 2006 finals tournament.[9] This saw Iran move from fifth to third, and Japan and Saudi Arabia ranked equal fourth.

The four seeding Pots used were:

Pot A Pot B Pot C Pot D

 Australia
 South Korea
 Iran
 Japan
 Saudi Arabia

 Bahrain
 Uzbekistan
 Kuwait
 North Korea
 China PR

 Jordan
 Iraq
 Lebanon
 Oman
 United Arab Emirates

 Qatar
 Syria
 Thailand
 Turkmenistan
 Singapore

Groups

The teams in each group played each other twice, once home and once away. The teams that finished first and second in their group qualified for the fourth round.

Group 1
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Australia 6 3 1 2 7 3 +4 10 — 3–0 1–0 0–1
 Qatar 6 3 1 2 5 6 −1 10 1–3 — 2–0 0–0
 Iraq 6 2 1 3 4 6 −2 7 1–0 0–1 — 1–1
 China PR 6 1 3 2 3 4 −1 6 0–0 0–1 1–2 —
Source:

On 26 May 2008, FIFA decided to suspend Iraq from international competition, after the Iraq Football Association was disbanded by the government on 20 May 2008.[10] The suspension was provisionally and conditionally lifted on 29 May 2008.[11]

Qatar fielded the ineligible player Emerson in the 2–0 defeat of Iraq on 26 March 2008, prompting world governing body FIFA controversially[12] to suspend the player but clear Qatar of any wrongdoing, in direct contradiction to its decisions against Singapore.

Iraq appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but it was rejected by the CAS, saying that Iraq submitted documents and the appeal fees too late.[13]

Group 2
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Japan 6 4 1 1 12 3 +9 13 — 1–0 3–0 4–1
 Bahrain 6 3 2 1 7 5 +2 11 1–0 — 1–1 1–1
 Oman 6 2 2 2 5 7 −2 8 1–1 0–1 — 2–1
 Thailand 6 0 1 5 5 14 −9 1 0–3 2–3 0–1 —
Source:

Group 3
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 South Korea 6 3 3 0 10 3 +7 12 — 0–0 2–2 4–0
 North Korea 6 3 3 0 4 0 +4 12 0–0 — 2–0 1–0
 Jordan 6 2 1 3 6 6 0 7 0–1 0–1 — 2–0
 Turkmenistan 6 0 1 5 1 12 −11 1 1–3 0–0 0–2 —
Source:

Group 4
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Uzbekistan 6 5 0 1 17 7 +10 15[lower-alpha 1] — 3–0 3–0[lower-alpha 2] 3–0
 Saudi Arabia 6 5 0 1 15 5 +10 15[lower-alpha 1] 4–0 — 2–0 4–1
 Singapore 6 2 0 4 7 16 −9 6 3–7 0–3[lower-alpha 2] — 2–0
 Lebanon 6 0 0 6 3 14 −11 0 0–1 1–2 1–2 —
Source:
Notes:
  1. The positions of Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are reversed from the original final standings after two matches were forfeited by Singapore.
  2. Awarded as 3 – 0 Singapore defeats as a result of Singapore fielding an ineligible player.

Group 5
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Iran 6 3 3 0 7 2 +5 12 — 0–0 0–0 2–0
 United Arab Emirates 6 2 2 2 7 7 0 8 0–1 — 1–3 2–0
 Syria 6 2 2 2 7 8 −1 8 0–2 1–1 — 1–0
 Kuwait 6 1 1 4 8 12 −4 4 2–2 2–3 4–2 —
Source:

Fourth round
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round

In the fourth round, the 10 remaining teams were drawn into 2 groups of 5 teams.

Qualified teams
Round 3 Group winner Group runner-up
Group 1 Australia Qatar
Group 2 Japan Bahrain
Group 3 South Korea North Korea
Group 4 Saudi Arabia* Uzbekistan*
Group 5 Iran United Arab Emirates

* Positions based on original final standings

Seeding

The 10 qualifiers were drawn into two groups of five teams at the draw in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 June 2008. The seeding for the fourth round was based on that used in the third round draw, but Saudi Arabia and Japan (seeded equal 4th in that draw) were separated by a random selection held at the start of the fourth round draw.[14]

The top 6 ranked qualifiers were split into 3 pots of 2 teams, with the bottom 4 ranked nations grouped together in a separate pot. Each group was allocated 1 team from each of Pots 1, 2 and 3, and 2 teams from Pot 4.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

 Australia
 South Korea

 Iran
 Japan

 Saudi Arabia
 Bahrain

 Uzbekistan
 North Korea
 United Arab Emirates
 Qatar

Groups

The teams in each group played each other twice, once home and once away. The top 2 teams in each group qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa. The third-placed teams met in a play-off to determine who would play the OFC winner, New Zealand, in a separate playoff for a spot in the Finals.

Group A
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Australia (Q) 8 6 2 0 12 1 +11 20 — 2–1 2–0 4–0 2–0
 Japan (Q) 8 4 3 1 11 6 +5 15 0–0 — 1–0 1–1 1–1
 Bahrain (A) 8 3 1 4 6 8 −2 10 0–1 2–3 — 1–0 1–0
 Qatar 8 1 3 4 5 14 −9 6 0–0 0–3 1–1 — 3–0
 Uzbekistan 8 1 1 6 5 10 −5 4 0–1 0–1 0–1 4–0 —
Source:
(Q) Australia and Japan qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.; (A) Bahrain advanced to the AFC play-off..

Group B
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 South Korea (Q) 8 4 4 0 12 4 +8 16 — 1–0 0–0 1–1 4–1
 North Korea (Q) 8 3 3 2 7 5 +2 12 1–1 — 1–0 0–0 2–0
 Saudi Arabia (A) 8 3 3 2 8 8 0 12 0–2 0–0 — 1–1 3–2
 Iran 8 2 5 1 8 7 +1 11 1–1 2–1 1–2 — 1–0
 United Arab Emirates 8 0 1 7 6 17 −11 1 0–2 1–2 1–2 1–1 —
Source:
(Q) South Korea and North Korea qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.; (A) Saudi Arabia advanced to the AFC play-off..

Fifth round

Teams finishing 3rd in the fourth round groups played each other to determine a possible 5th qualifier from Asia. The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.[15]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Bahrain  2–2 (a)  Saudi Arabia 0–0 2–2

Bahrain advanced to the Asia-Oceania play-off on the away goals rule.

Inter-confederation play-offs
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)

The Fifth Round winner then played the winner of the OFC qualifying group, New Zealand, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.

The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.[15]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Bahrain  0–1  New Zealand 0–0 0–1

Qualified teams

The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup
 AustraliaFourth Round Group A winners6 June 20093 (1974, 2006, 2018)
 South KoreaFourth Round Group B winners6 June 20098 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018)
 JapanFourth Round Group A runners-up6 June 20094(1998, 2002, 2006, 2018)
 North KoreaFourth Round Group B runners-up17 June 20091 (1966)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

There were 374 goals scored in 144 games, for an average of 2.60 goals per game.

8 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

References
  1. 2010 FIFA World Cup: AFC announces seedings, qualification process
  2. Asian Zone Competition Format
  3. "No home play for Iraq in World Cup qualifiers". Soccerway. 6 August 2007. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  4. "Bhutan out of 2010 race". Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA. 13 September 2007. Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  5. "Indonesia goes straight through - Guam declines" (in Indonesian). Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia. 7 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  6. "Myanmar-China switched to Malaysia". Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA. 18 October 2007. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  7. "Fifa reject Palestinian appeal". Al Jazeera Sports. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  8. FIFA Reinstate Kuwait to Competition, retrieved 9 November 2007
  9. Preliminary Draw Information Final Zones Ranking and Pot Allocations, FIFA retrieved 25 November 2007
  10. "FIFA suspends Iraq from international competition". Yahoo! Sports. 26 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  11. "Suspension of Iraqi Football Association provisionally and conditionally lifted". FIFA. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  12. "FIFA unable to shake off Qatar controversy". ESPN SoccerNet. 22 September 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  13. "Iraq loses last appeal to get back into World Cup". ESPN SoccerNet. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  14. "FWCQ Stage 4 draw mechanics". The-AFC.com. 12 June 2008. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  15. Intercontinental play-off dates confirmed Archived 14 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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