Asian World Cup Qualifiers First Round Draw

It is a sure sign that the beginning of the 2010 World Cup is near. Men in suits pulling little slips of paper out of a bowl. That can only mean that there is football draw.

On Monday the Asian Football Confederation did the paper pulling as part of its draw for the first round of World Cup qualifiers. The games will take place on October 8 and 28. It is worth noting that Asian Cup champions Iraq will not be playing any of their games at home because of security concerns. The same thing applies for Palestine and Afghanistan. Evidently it is safe to play games in the Maldives, at least until global warming makes them disappear.

The top five teams in the region — Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Iran — have been given a bye into the third round. Of the 19 teams that make it through the first round, the lowest eight battle in the second round for four spots in the third round, while the top 11 move directly into the third round.

The seedings:

1. Australia 2. South Korea 3. Saudi Arabia 4. Japan 5. Iran 6. Bahrain 7. Uzbekistan 8. Kuwait 9. North Korea 10. China 11. Jordan 12. Iraq 13. Lebanon 14. Oman 15. UAE 16. Qatar 17. Syria 18. Palestine 19. Thailand 20. Turkmenistan 21. Tajikistan 22. Indonesia 23. Hong Kong 24. Yemen 25. Vietnam 26. Kyrgyzstan 27. Maldives 28. India 29. Singapore 30. Sri Lanka 31. Malaysia 32. Taiwan 33. Bangladesh 34. Macau 35. Pakistan 36. Afghanistan 37. Mongolia 38. Guam 39. Nepal 40. Cambodia 41. Bhutan 42. Myanmar 43. East Timor

Teams ranked 1-5 receive a bye to the third round.

THE PAIRINGS FOR ROUND 1

1) Pakistan v Iraq
2) Uzbekistan v Taiwan
3) Thailand v Macau
4) Sri Lanka v Qatar
5) China v Myanmar
6) Bhutan v Kuwait
7) Kyrgyzstan v Jordan
Vietnam v UAE
9) Bahrain v Malaysia
10) East Timor v Hong Kong
11) Syria v Afghanistan
12) Yemen v Maldives
13) Bangladesh v Tajikistan
14) Mongolia v North Korea
15) Oman v Nepal
16) Palestine v Singapore
17) Lebanon v India
18) Cambodia v Turkmenistan
19) Guam v Indonesia
Match days: October 8 and 28

Round 2
1) Seed 17 vs Seed 14
2) Seed 16 vs Seed 12
3) Seed 19 vs Seed 15
4) Seed 18 vs Seed 13
Match days: November 9 and 18

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