Related knowledge:
1, the allocation of World Cup places is based on the football level of each continent. Asia has a low level and can only get 4 or 5 places. In addition, the level of Oceania countries is not high, so we share a place with Asia. That is to say, the fifth place in the Asian regional qualifiers is against the first place in Oceania, and the winner is qualified for the World Cup, so there are 4.5 places.
2. If the opponent is a team from Oceania, Africa, Central America and North America, then this 0.5 quota is even more valuable, because Asian teams are not afraid of teams from these regions. If the opponent is a European team or a South American team, there is no need to feel terrible. After all, the only teams that want to play the play-offs with Asian teams are European third-rate teams or South American second-rate teams. There are many variables in the two rounds of play-offs, so 0.5 may become 1.
Judging from the performance of the Asian Cup in the last two years and this year, there are six teams that can hit the finals of the 20 18 World Cup: Japan, South Korea, Iran, Australia, and the new generation of Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. For these teams, this 0.5 quota means retreat and security-if they can get the third place, there is still hope.