According to the rules of Asian World Cup 20 18, all 46 member associations of AFC signed up for the Russian Asian World Cup 20 18. The Asian regional qualifiers are divided into three rounds.
1, first round
12 Asian teams with the lowest ranking in FIFA participated in the competition, and the six winning teams then participated in the second round of the top 40 with the top 34 teams in AFC.
The lowest ranked 12 Asian teams were Timor-Leste, Mongolia, Cambodia, China, Macau, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, China Taipei, Brunei, India, Nepal, Yemen and Pakistan. They will play home and away games in groups, and the six winning teams will qualify for the second round of Asian regional qualifiers.
Because before the Asian regional qualifiers of the 20 18 World Cup, China was ranked in the top 34 in the AFC, so it didn't need to participate in the first round of the qualifiers, and directly advanced to the second round.
2, the second round of competition
The 40 teams will be divided into 8 groups with 5 teams in each group. The first place in eight groups and the second place in four best teams will advance to the third round 12.
3, the third round of competition
12 teams will be divided into two groups, and the top two of the two groups will directly get tickets for the World Cup in Russia. The winner between the third place in the two groups will compete with other continents for a qualification.
Extended data
20 18 World Cup Asian Regional Qualifiers Top 40 Teams Ranking
According to the latest ranking of FIFA on April 9, 20 15, the 40 teams promoted in Asia are divided into the following five grades:
1, 1 File: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, China, Iraq;
2. Second gear: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Syria and Kuwait;
3. Third gear: Afghanistan, Philippines, Palestine, Maldives, Thailand, Tajikistan, Lebanon, India;
4. The fourth file: East Timor, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Myanmar, Singapore, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Bhutan;
Fifth file: Malaysia, Hongkong, China, Bangladesh, Yemen, Guam, Laos, Cambodia and China Taipei.
Baidu Encyclopedia -20 18 Asian World Cup qualifiers