On June 30, the AFC unveiled the draw for the Asian qualifying round of 12 in the World Cup, with the ceremony kicking off with the sixth-ranked teams, which were assigned to Groups A and B in turn, a process that lasted until the first-ranked teams were drawn.
The tournament is divided into ten race days, with the dates being September 2 and 7, October 7 and 12, November 11 and 16, 2021, and January 27, February 1, March 24 and 29, 2022, respectively.
The top two teams in each group will advance directly, while the third-place team will have to compete for a play-off berth, with the winner qualifying for the Intercontinental Knockout Round, and thus competing for a World Cup berth.
According to the latest world rankings released by FIFA on June 18, the teams participating in the 12-team tournament were divided as follows:
Tranche 1: Japan, Iran
Tranche 2: Australia, Korea
Tranche 3: Saudi Arabia, UAE
Tranche 4: Iraq, China
Fifth tranche: Oman, Syria
Tranche 6: Viet Nam, Lebanon
