Teams which eventually make it to the FIFA World Cup go through a gruelling qualification process, with some countries having a tougher route than others, depending on their confederation. One of the toughest qualification routes is that from Asia, with the Asian World Cup qualifiers spanning four rounds and multiple round-robin matches.
With just 4.5 slots at the next World Cup, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the Asian World Cup qualification section is extremely competitive, and this makes it attractive for viewers, fans and betting fans alike, with BetGold carrying betting tips for the big matches, as well as the various qualification predictions for the Asian World Cup qualifiers.
AFC Asian Cup And Asian World Cup Qualifiers
The Asian World Cup qualifiers are multi-purpose, in that they also serve as qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup as well as the AFC Solidarity Cup. The format of the Asian World Cup qualifiers sees teams enter the qualifying tournament at different stages, based on their rankings.
Asian World Cup Qualifiers Format
The first round has the 12 teams ranked 35-46 play a two-legged knockout tie, with the six winners advancing to the second round. Here, they are joined by the 34 teams, ranked 1-34, to be divided into eight groups of five teams each.
The teams play a home-and-away series of round-robin matches, after which the eight group winners and the four best group runners-up move on to the third round for the Asian World Cup qualifiers, as well as qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup finals. While Qatar, the host nation for the 2022 World Cup, are also participating in the qualification tournament, their spot at the World Cup is guaranteed, and so if they do finish in a qualification spot, the fifth-best runner-up from this group stage will take their place.
Next, the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers will have 12 teams being divided into two groups of six teams each, when they will again play a home-and-away round-robin series of matches. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the World Cup finals, while the third-placed teams move on to the fourth round.
Here, they play a two-legged knockout tie, with the winner advancing to the inter-continental playoffs, where they will need to win a two-legged tie against a team from one of the other confederations, to qualify for the World Cup.
Thus, as you can see, the Asian World Cup qualifiers are comprehensive, with the best teams entering at the second round, but having to go through a long qualification process in order to confirm their participation at the World Cup.
This gives football betting fans a lot of matches to place bets on, with online betting websites usually offering odds on all the matches, as well as having odds on the ultimate qualifiers for the World Cup.
Asian World Cup Qualifiers Betting Tips By BetGold
The Asian World Cup qualifiers allow the best Asian teams to represent the continent at the World Cup, and are thus designed to be comprehensive in order to arrive at the best teams. This is also beneficial for those of a betting persuasion, as the long campaign allows the best teams to come to the fore and reduces the chances of a team upsetting the odds.
Keep track of the Asian World Cup qualifying stage with BetGold’s fresh news and great tips.
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