The much-anticipated AFC Round of 12 group draw ceremony will kick off at 15:00 on July 1 in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, a moment when the eyes of soccer fans around the globe will be focused on the event.
The Chinese men's soccer team will participate in the draw as a fourth-ranked team, sharing a slot with Iraq, which means that the
national soccer team
The Iraqi team will be smoothly avoided in the grouping stage. While Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran are firmly in the top two slots, the other six teams in the competition are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Syria, Vietnam and Lebanon.
In terms of classification, Japan and Iran lead the first slot, followed by Australia and South Korea in the second slot. The third slot includes Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while the fourth slot is occupied by Iraq and the Chinese men's soccer team. The fifth slot consists of Oman and Syria, while the sixth slot is occupied by Vietnam and Lebanon.
The 12-team tournament will officially open on September 2 with a packed schedule of matches, with September 7, October 7, October 12, November 11 and November 16 also being match days. Six rounds will be completed during the year, with the remaining four rounds taking place on January 27, February 1, March 24 and March 29 next year. The Chinese men's soccer team is expected to begin training in mid-August and continue until mid-November as the teams in the 12-team tournament, which uses a home-and-away system, are restricted from entering and exiting the country due to the impact of the epidemic.
As hosts, Qatar has a direct lock on the 2022
World Cup
The Seats. According to the regulations, the Asian Zone 12 will produce 4.5 World Cup main round berths. After the group draw, the top two teams from the AB and AB groups will advance directly, while the third place will have to participate in a playoff, with the winners then competing for a cross-continental playoff to ultimately earn their World Cup berths.
