Australia, Japan to go head-to-head following Asian draw

This ended an anxious wait for the 12 teams still in the running, who now know the identity of the opponents against whom they will vie for one of the four automatic tickets to the finals that are up for grabs.

On the one hand, Asian champions Australia have been pitted against Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Thailand in Group B. Meanwhile, fellow top seeds Iran – who boast experience of four previous World Cup campaigns – have been paired with Korea Republic, Uzbekistan, China PR, Qatar and Syria.

The draw was conducted by AFC General Secretary Dato Windsor John. Numerous personalities were in attendance, headed by the coaches of the teams that will contest the third round.

The latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was used to split the 12-country field into six pots. These were then drawn into two groups of six teams, who will do battle for direct qualification to Russia 2018 between September 1, 2016 and September 5, 2017.

Both group winners and runners-up will go straight through to the 2018 World Cup. Meanwhile, the two teams that finish third will meet in a two-legged showdown on October 5 and 10, 2017. Whoever triumphs in this double-header will look to secure their spot at the finals in an intercontinental play-off – also to be played over two legs – against the fourth-placed country from CONCACAF qualifying.

The full AFC qualifying third round draw is as follows:

Group A: Iran, Korea Republic, Uzbekistan, China PR, Qatar and Syria

Group B: Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Thailand

Schedule

Matchday 1: 1 September 2016
Matchday 2: 6 September 2016
Matchday 3: 6 October 2016
Matchday 4: 11 October 2016
Matchday 5: 15 November 2016
Matchday 6: 23 March 2017
Matchday 7: 28 March 2017
Matchday 8: 13 June 2017*
Matchday 9: 31 August 2017
Matchday 10: 5 September 2017