United Arab Emirates and Qatar to Host FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers

UAE and Qatar to host FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have been confirmed as the hosts for the remaining 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers. The matches will be played in June 2023, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the next round.

Background

The Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup were originally scheduled to be played in 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The matches were then rescheduled to be played in 2021, but were again postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.

In March 2022, FIFA announced that the remaining matches in the Asian Qualifiers would be played in a centralized venue. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar were subsequently confirmed as the hosts of the matches.

Format of the competition

The remaining matches in the Asian Qualifiers will be played in two groups of six teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round of qualifying.

The matches will be played on a round-robin basis, with each team playing each other team in their group once.

Teams involved

The following teams will be competing in the remaining matches of the Asian Qualifiers:

• Group A: China, Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Vietnam
• Group B: Iran, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon

Venues

The matches in the Asian Qualifiers will be played at the following venues:

• Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar

Dates

The matches in the Asian Qualifiers will be played on the following dates:

• Matchday 1: June 7, 2023
• Matchday 2: June 11, 2023
• Matchday 3: June 15, 2023