Asian qualifiers draw for 2022 FIFA World Cup next month

Kuala Lumpur: Asia's top football teams will soon start their quest for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar as they would know their opponents in the Asian Qualifiers Round 2 when the schedules will be announced here next month.

As many as 40 teams will be drawn into eight groups of five teams each and will compete in a double round robin format (home and away) from September 5, 2019 to June 9, 2020, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The draw will be held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on July 17, said the Asian football's governing body.

The seedings for the draw will be based on the latest FIFA Rankings issued on June 14 with China joining Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as top seeds. Bangladesh, Cambodia, Guam, Malaysia and Mongolia have advanced to Round 2.