2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round
The third round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 1 September 2016 to 5 September 2017.[1]
Contents
Format
A total of twelve teams which advanced from the second round (the eight group winners and the four best group runners-up) were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.
Qualified teams
| Group (Second round) |
Winners | Runners-up (Best 4) |
|---|---|---|
| A |  Saudi Arabia |
 United Arab Emirates |
| B |  Australia |
— |
| C |  Qatar |
 China PR |
| D |  Iran |
— |
| E |  Japan |
 Syria |
| F |  Thailand |
 Iraq |
| G |  South Korea |
— |
| H |  Uzbekistan |
— |
Seeding
The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016, at 16:30 MST (UTC+8), at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[2][3]
The seeding were based on the FIFA World Rankings of April 2016 (shown in parentheses below).[4] The twelve teams were seeded into six pots:[5]
- Pot 1 contained the teams ranked 1–2.
- Pot 2 contained the teams ranked 3–4.
- Pot 3 contained the teams ranked 5–6.
- Pot 4 contained the teams ranked 7–8.
- Pot 5 contained the teams ranked 9–10.
- Pot 6 contained the teams ranked 11–12.
Each group contained one team from each of the six pots. The fixtures of each group were automatically decided based on the respective pot of each team.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Italicised teams qualified for the fourth round.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
|
Groups
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
|---|
In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[6]
|
Group A
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| South Korea |
3–2 | China PR |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
|
Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul
Attendance: 51,238 Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates) |
| China PR |
0–0 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 35,776 Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan) |
| Syria |
0–0 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Seremban (Malaysia)[note 1]
Attendance: 4,350 Referee: Chris Beath (Australia) |
| South Korea |
3–2 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Syria |
1–0 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Hang Jebat Stadium, Krubong (Malaysia)[note 1]
Attendance: 350 Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates) |
| Syria |
2–2 | China PR |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Hang Jebat Stadium, Krubong (Malaysia)[note 1]
Attendance: 4,737 Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates) |
Group B
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| United Arab Emirates |
0–1 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
|
Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Attendance: 40,893 Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia) |
| Saudi Arabia |
3–0 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Iraq |
1–1 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
|
Shahid Dastgerdi Stadium, Tehran (Iran)[note 3]
Attendance: 3,270 Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea) |
| Thailand |
0–3 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iraq |
1–0 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Amman International Stadium, Amman (Jordan)[note 3]
Attendance: 2,185 Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan) |
Goalscorers
There were 129 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.15 goals per match.
- 5 goals
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- 4 goals
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- 3 goals
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- 2 goals
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- 1 goal
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- Tim Cahill
- Jackson Irvine
- Massimo Luongo
- Tom Rogic
- Trent Sainsbury
- Hao Junmin
- Wu Lei
- Wu Xi
- Xiao Zhi
- Yu Dabao
- Yu Hai
- Reza Ghoochannejhad
- Jalal Hosseini
- Alireza Jahanbakhsh
- Ayman Hussein
- Mahdi Kamil
- Justin Meram
- Ahmed Yasin
- Keisuke Honda
- Yosuke Ideguchi
- Shinji Kagawa
- Hiroshi Kiyotake
- Yasuyuki Konno
- Shinji Okazaki
- Yuya Osako
- Hotaru Yamaguchi
- Maya Yoshida
- Ali Assadalla
- Sebastián Soria
- Salem Al-Dawsari
- Taisir Al-Jassim
- Salman Al-Moasher
- Nasser Al-Shamrani
- Omar Hawsawi
- Hong Jeong-ho
- Hwang Hee-chan
- Ji Dong-won
- Lee Chung-yong
- Nam Tae-hee
- Son Heung-min
- Ahmad Al Salih
- Omar Al Somah
- Tamer Haj Mohamad
- Pokklaw Anan
- Tana Chanabut
- Mongkol Tossakrai
- Ismail Matar
- Odil Ahmedov
- Alexander Geynrikh
- Egor Krimets
- Otabek Shukurov
- 1 own goal
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- Zheng Zhi (against South Korea)
- Ahmad Ibrahim (against Thailand)
- Tanaboon Kesarat (against Saudi Arabia)
Notes
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- Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – Asia: Round 3, FIFA.com
- FIFA World Cup, the-AFC.com
- FIFA World Cup 2018, stats.the-AFC.com
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- Pages with reference errors
- Use dmy dates from February 2016
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
- 2016 in Asian football
- 2017 in Asian football
- Iran at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- South Korea at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- Japan at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- Saudi Arabia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- Australia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
