2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round
International football competition
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The third round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 1 September 2016 to 5 September 2017.[1]
Dates1 September 2016 – 5 September 2017
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Matchesplayed60
Goals scored129 (2.15 per match)
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 September 2016 – 5 September 2017 |
| Teams | 12 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 60 |
| Goals scored | 129 (2.15 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,950,068 (32,501 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Tomi Juric  Mohannad Abdul-Raheem  Nawaf Al-Abed  Ahmed Khalil (5 goals each) |
← 2014 2022 → | |
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 |
| 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 league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[6]
|
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran |
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 22 | 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | South Korea |
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 15 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | ||
| 3 | Syria |
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 13 | Fourth round | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | |
| 4 | Uzbekistan |
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 13 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | China |
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 12 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | ||
| 6 | Qatar |
10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 7 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — |
| South Korea | 3–2 | China |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Attendance: 51,238
| Iran | 2–0 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 4,350
Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)
| South Korea | 3–2 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| China | 0–1 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| South Korea | 2–1 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Attendance: 350
| Qatar | 0–1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iran | 1–0 | China |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 4,737
Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)
| Syria | 3–1 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Qatar | 1–2 | China |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Iran | 2–2 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan |
10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 20 | 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia |
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 19 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Australia |
10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 19 | Fourth round | 1–1 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates |
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 13 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 5 | Iraq |
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 11 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 6 | Thailand |
10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 24 | −18 | 2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Japan | 2–1 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iraq | 4–0 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Saudi Arabia | 3–0 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
| Iraq | 1–1 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Thailand | 0–3 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Australia | 3–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Thailand | 1–1 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iraq | 1–1 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Thailand | 1–2 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
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
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
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
- Zheng Zhi (against South Korea)
- Ahmad Ibrahim (against Thailand)
- Tanaboon Kesarat (against Saudi Arabia)
Notes
- Syria played their home matches outside Syria due to security concerns from the Syrian Civil War.
- Iraq played their home matches in Iran due to security concerns from the Iraqi Civil War. However, due to Saudi Arabia's refusal to play in Iran after the attack on their diplomatic missions in Iran, the first match was played in Malaysia.[8] Also, due to United Arab Emirates' refusal to play in Iran after the diplomatic crisis in Qatar, the final match was played in Jordan.
- The Australia v Saudi Arabia match was brought forward from 13 June 2017 due to Australia's participation in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.[9]