Here is the complete draw of the World Cup and AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers for the Asian teams.
The draw for 2022 World Cup and 2023 Qualifiers AFC Asian Cup was successful, with India’s group comprising of Qatar and Oman. Slotted in Group E, the other two sides the Blue Tigers will face are Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The Group winner and four best second-placed teams will qualify to the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers. Whereas, Qatar have a direct en route to the World Cup Group Stages, with the hosting nation playing a picture. But, they will have to stay at their best to proceed to the AFC Asian Cup Group Stages.
The group is mixed, but the Blue Tigers are expected to have a go at all the opposition to stand a chance of qualifying to the next round.
We shall look at India’s fixtures.
Sept 5, 2019: vs OMA (Home)
Sept 10, 2019: vs QAT (Away)
Oct 15, 2019: vs BAN (Home)
Nov 14, 2019: vs AFG (Away)
Nov 19, 2019: vs OMA (Away)
Mar 26, 2020: vs QAT (Home)
Jun 4, 2020: vs BAN (Away)
Jun 9, 2020: vs AFG (Home)
There are many tricky groups in this round.
Here’s the complete group-wise split up –
Group A: China, Syria, Philippines, Maldives, Guam.
Group B: Australia, Jordan, Chinese Tapei, Kuati and Nepal.
Group C: Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Cambodia
Group D: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen, Singapore
Group E: Bangladesh, Oman, India, Afghanistan, Qatar
Group F: Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Mongolia
Group E: UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
Group F: South Korea, Lebanon, DPR Korea, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka
AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “The last edition of the qualifying tournament was a resounding success in closing the gap between our Inspiring, Developing and Aspiring nations and also in raising the standards of Asian football.
“The Asian Qualifiers are more inclusive and present our teams with even more opportunities to experience top-level competition than ever before.
“Not only did Asia’s top five teams create history at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 with our best-ever performance in the group stage but the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 also showcased the incredible progress of our emerging nations as fan engagement on digital media and on television surpassed all expectations.
“The focus of world football for the next few years is clearly on Asia and I am confident that our teams will again produce a thrilling and memorable campaign,” he said.
