- The 12 Asian teams still in contention for Qatar 2022 are known
- Vietnam enters Tour 3 for the first time, Uzbekistan goes by the wayside
- IR Iran, UAE and PR China scared each other
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The curtain has just fallen on the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar ™ when the 12 teams still in the running are already looking to the next round. Eight countries validated their ticket on June 15: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, IR Iran, Iraq, Oman, Lebanon, PR China and Vietnam. They join Japan, Australia, Syria and the Republic of Korea, whose qualification was already assured.
These survivors will be divided into two groups of six, following a draw organized on July 1. They will then face each other for seven months, from September 2, 2021 to March 29, 2022. At the end of this sequence, the first two of each group will advance directly to the final phase, while the third two will play a jump-off.
Vietnam is the surprise guest of this Tour 3, he who had never yet reached this stage of the competition. Conversely, the defeat of Uzbekistan against Saudi Arabia sealed its elimination. For their part, IR Iran, PR China and the UAE have made a dramatic turnaround after a rocky start.
FIFA.com takes stock of this second round.
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Qualified
Group winners: Syria, Japan, Australia, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, IR Iran, United Arab Emirates
Best runners-up: Oman, PR China, Lebanon, Iraq, Vietnam
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June 15, 2021
PRELIMINARY JOINT QUALIFICATION 2022,TAJIKISTAN,MYANMAR,Yanmar Stadium Nagai,15 Jun, 2021,19:28,1 – RUSTAM YATIMOV,10 – WIN NAING TUN,
© AFC
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June 15, 2021
PRELIMINARY JOINT QUALIFICATION 2022,TAJIKISTAN,MYANMAR,Yanmar Stadium Nagai,15 Jun, 2021,19:28,20 – SAMIEV SHAHROM,11 – MUHAMMADJON RAHIMOV,
© AFC
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June 15, 2021
PRELIMINARY JOINT QUALIFICATION 2022, TAJIKISTAN, MYANMAR, Yanmar Stadium Nagai, 15 Jun, 2021,19: 28,4 – ERGASHEV DAVRONJON, 10 – TURSUNOV KOMRON, 17 – EHSON PANSHANBE, 7 – UMARBOEV, PARVIZJ PARVIZJ
© AFC
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Australia vs Jordan, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Australia vs Jordan, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Iraq walk out ahead of the match against IR Iran
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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IR Iran walk out onto the pitch ahead of the match against Iraq
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Mirlan Murzaev of Kyrgyz Republic and Shinnosuke Nakatani of Japan compete for the ball
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June 15, 2021
SUITA, JAPAN – JUNE 15: Mirlan Murzaev of Kyrgyz Republic and Shinnosuke Nakatani of Japan compete for the ball during the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier second round Group F match between Japan and Kyrgyz at Panasonic Stadium Suita on June 15, 2021 in Suita, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Ado Onaiwu (2nd R) of Japan celebrates scoring his side’s first goal with his team mates
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June 15, 2021
SUITA, JAPAN – JUNE 15: Ado Onaiwu (2nd R) of Japan celebrates scoring his side’s first goal with his team mates during the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier second round Group F match between Japan and Kyrgyz at Panasonic Stadium Suita on June 15, 2021 in Suita, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Mirlan Murzaev of Kyrgyz Republic converts the penalty to score
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June 15, 2021
SUITA, JAPAN – JUNE 15: Mirlan Murzaev of Kyrgyz Republic converts the penalty to score his side’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier second round Group F match between Japan and Kyrgyz at Panasonic Stadium Suita on June 15, 2021 in Suita, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Takuma Asano of Japan takes on Kairat Zhyrgalbek Uulu of Kyrgyz Republic
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June 15, 2021
SUITA, JAPAN – JUNE 15: Takuma Asano of Japan takes on Kairat Zhyrgalbek Uulu of Kyrgyz Republic during the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier second round Group F match between Japan and Kyrgyz at Panasonic Stadium Suita on June 15, 2021 in Suita, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Afghanistan captain Farshad Noor walks out onto the pitch
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Faysal Shayesteh of Afghanistan dribbles against India
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Muhammed Ashique Kuruniyan of India dribbles against Haroon Amiri of Afghanistan in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Wu Lei of China PR dribbles against Syria
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Mirlan Murzaev (L) of Kyrgyz Republic reacts after scoring his side’s first goal with his team mate Aizar Akmatov
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June 15, 2021
SUITA, JAPAN – JUNE 15: Mirlan Murzaev (L) of Kyrgyz Republic reacts after scoring his side’s first goal with his team mate Aizar Akmatov (R) during the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier second round Group F match between Japan and Kyrgyz at Panasonic Stadium Suita on June 15, 2021 in Suita, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Saudi Arabia vs Uzbekistan, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Saudi Arabia vs Uzbekistan, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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Salman Alfaraj of Saudi Arabia smiles
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June 15, 2021
© AFC
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The key moments
First of the roped: Japan were the first to confirm their presence in the next round, edging Myanmar 10-0 with two matchdays remaining. The Blue Samurai were joined by Syria the following day, easy winner of Guam (3-0). Australia joined this small group after having chained seven straight victories, including a large success (3-0) over Nepal on the penultimate day. Finally, the Republic of Korea provided the essentials by dominating Lebanon (2-1) at the end of the course.
Winning returns: If eight of the 12 qualified had to wait to be fixed on their destiny, three of them had to whip to save their heads. Despite a mixed start, IR Iran and UAE strung together four straight wins to finish at the top of their respective groups. China PR has collected good results under the orders of new coach Li Tie, including a prestigious victory (3-1) over Syria.
Back among the elite: Absent from the decisive phase of qualifying for Russia 2018, Oman and Lebanon are back in the spotlight. Defeated by Qatar in the return leg, the Omanis lined up three wins, a performance that earned them a top five second. The Cedars, meanwhile, finished with a head start on Turkmenistan and owe their salvation only to the combined defeats of Jordan and Uzbekistan on the final day.
A first for Vietnam: This campaign will continue to be marked by the rise of Vietnam, which is entering the third round for the first time in its history. Quarter-finalist of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, he confirms his progress under coach Park Hangseo. After occupying first place for a time, the Vietnamese signed two crucial wins against Indonesia and Malaysia to ensure they were among the best second, despite a loss to the UAE (3-2) in the last day.
They passed very close: Once again, Uzbekistan saw their dream of a first World Cup qualification shattered at the last moment, this time due to a 3-0 loss to Saudi Arabia. Since joining the AFC in 1994, White Wolves had never been eliminated at this stage of the competition. They remained on six qualifications for the final round.
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The dream of competing #WorldCup 2022 continues for 12 teams in the Zone @theafcdotcom !????????
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Vietnam
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–The players
The attacker Nguyen Tien Linh (23), a four-time scorer for Vietnam, notably scored the winning goal over the UAE in the first leg. He will remain as one of the great architects of this historic qualification.
South Korean side, the young Song Minkyu obviously did not suffer from stage fright for his international debut: author of an assist against Turkmenistan (5-0), he opened the scoring against Lebanon in the decisive match. Finally, Wu Lei, the experienced Chinese striker, showed good consistency throughout this second round, finding the net seven times.
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Did you know ?
Australia and Japan were clear in the second round of the Asian qualifiers: eight wins in eight matches and only two goals conceded each.
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