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Asian World Cup qualifying draw announced; UAE in Group A

The top eight teams and four best group runners-up will progress to Asia’s final World Cup qualifying round as well as the Asian Cup in UAE.

Kuala Lumpur - Asian champions Australia drew Jordan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh in the second round of regional qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The draw, which was made in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, threw up a series of fascinating matches in the world’s most populated and widespread region.

South Korea, runners-up at this year’s Asian Cup, fared well, drawn in the same group as Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar and Laos.

Regional heavyweights Japan were drawn in Group E with Syria, Afghanistan, Singapore and Cambodia, while Iran ended up in Group D with Oman, India, Turkmenistan and Guam.

The 40 teams that made the second round were split into eight groups of five. Each country will play home and away against the other sides in their group.

The second round starts in June and runs until March next year.

The eight group winners and the four best runners-up will advance to the next stage of World Cup qualifying in Asia. They will also qualify automatically for the 2019 Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates.

The teams that miss out will go into another phase of Asian Cup qualifiers.

The remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which started the first round of qualifiers as the world’s worst team, according to FIFA rankings, ended up in the same group as China, Hong Kong, Maldives and Qatar, the 2022 World Cup hosts. 

Draw for Asia’s second qualifying round for the Russia 2018 World Cup and UAE 2019 Asian Cup* as made in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday:

Group A: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, East Timor, Malaysia

Group B: Australia, Jordan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh

Group C: China, Qatar, Maldives, Bhutan, Hong Kong

Group D: Iran, Oman, India, Turkmenistan, Guam

Group E: Japan, Syria, Afghanistan, Singapore, Cambodia

Group F: Iraq, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan

Group G: South Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar, Laos

Group H: Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Philippines, North Korea, Yemen

*The top eight teams and four best group runners-up will progress to Asia’s final World Cup qualifying round as well as the Asian Cup in UAE.

The home-and-away round robin starts on June 11 and finishes on March 29 next year.

The remaining 28 teams will compete for the other 12 places at the Asian Cup.