2022 World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final Draw: Iran and South Korea in Group A, Japan and Australia in Group B

The draw for the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers (AFC region) took place on July 1, 2021, at Kuala Lumpur.

12 teams from the second round have qualified for the third round of the qualifiers. Seven group toppers from eight groups (Qatar will not play the third round as they are the host country) and five best runners-up teams qualified from the second round.

Based on the special FIFA Ranking released for Asian teams on June 18, top seeds Japan and Iran were placed in Pot 1 of the draw, with Pot 2 comprising Australia and Korea Republic while Pot 3 had Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Pot 4 contained Iraq and China PR, followed by Oman and Syria in Pot 5 and debutants Vietnam and Lebanon in Pot 6.

The matches are scheduled to be played on September 2 and 7, October 7 and 12, and November 11 and 16, 2021, as well as January 27 and February 1, March 24 and 29, 2022.

The respective group winners and runners-up will directly qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while the third-placed teams will advance to the Asian playoff to determine the side that will advance to the intercontinental playoff.

Here is how the two groups look like