The Asian Football Confederation is made up of 47 nations from all over the Asian continent and some nations from Oceania. The AFC was born in 1954 in the Philippines, since then the confederation has worked hard to improve the level of soccer in the region so that smaller countries have a chance to play in a World Cup.
This time, for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022, one of the AFC members is the host country, Qatar, so they don't have to play to qualify. The host country joined the confederation in 1974, and in 2019 they won the Asian Cup.
As in other confederations, the AFC offers nations a group-based format where teams play to qualify directly to the World Cup and also to the next round which gives nations one last chance to play in the tournament.
How many teams will qualify from Asia for the World Cup?
The Asian Football Confederation offers 4.5 slots for the nations that play within the continent, therefore 4 countries qualify directly to play in Qatar 2022 while the last two teams get a special ticket to play in the fourth round against another nation.
How many stages do the World Cup Qualifiers have in Asia?
The stages in the AFC are made up of a first phase called the Group Stage where the teams play to qualify for the Third Round, in that second phase known as the third round the teams are divided into two groups where the four best nations qualify directly for Qatar 2022 and two other teams play one last game for the last slot.
When will the AFC Fourth Round game be played?
The game for the last slot on the Asian continent to be played in Qatar will be held between May or June 2022. The date is not fixed due to problems related to Covid-19 in Asia. The date has been changed twice in 2020 and 2021.
