Kuwait seem to have dropped down in performance and unlikely to progress. On the other hand Indonesia in the box seat to take second in their group and advance. Winning twice against Vietnam is a surprise.

FIFA World Cup/AFC Asian Cup round two joint qualifying – MD 4 results,

Group A:
India 1 Afghanistan 2 at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
Kuwait 1 Qatar 2 at Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium

Standings after MD 4:
Qatar 12 +14 GD – qualified
India 4 -3 GD
Afghanistan 4 -10 GD
Kuwait 3 -1 GD

Group B:
North Korea v Japan at Kim II Sung Stadium (match cancelled – likely Japan forfeit 3-0 win)
Syria 7 Myanmar 0 at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium

Standings after MD 4:
Japan 12 +14 GD – qualified
Syria 7 +3 GD
North Korea 3 +0 GD
Myanmar 1 -17 GD

Group C:
China 4 Singapore 1 at Tianjin Olympic Stadium
Thailand 0 South Korea 3 at Rajamangala Stadium

Standings after MD 4:
South Korea 10 +11 GD
China 7 +1 GD
Thailand 4 -2 GD
Singapore 1 -10 GD

Group D:
Kyrgyzstan 5 Chinese Taipei 1 at Dolen Omurzakov Stadium
Malaysia 0 Oman 2 at Bukit Jalil National Stadium

Standings after MD 4:
Kyrgyzstan 9 +6 GD
Oman 9 +6 GD
Malaysia 6 -2 GD
Chinese Taipei 0 -10 GD

Group E:
Uzbekistan 3 Hong Kong 0 at Milliy Stadium
Turkmenistan 0 Iran 1 at Ashgabat Stadium

Standings after MD 4:
Iran 10 +10 GD – qualified
Uzbekistan 10 +7 GD – qualified
Turkmenistan 1 -8 GD
Hong Kong 1 -9 GD

Group F:
Philippines 0 Iraq 5 at Rizal Memorial Stadium
Vietnam 0 Indonesia 3 at Mỹ Đình National Stadium

Standings after MD 4:
Iraq 12 +11 GD – qualified
Indonesia 7 +0 GD
Vietnam 3 -3 GD
Philippines 1 -8 GD

Group G:
Tajikistan 1 Saudi Arabia 1 at Pamir Stadium
Jordan 7 Pakistan 0 at Amman International Stadium

Standings after MD 4:
Saudi Arabia 10 +7 GD
Jordan 7 +8 GD
Tajikistan 5 +4 GD
Pakistan 0 -19 GD

Group H:
Bahrain 3 Nepal 0 at Bahrain National Stadium
Yemen 0 United Arab Emirates 3 at Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium

Standings after MD 4:
United Arab Emirates 12 +10 GD – qualified
Bahrain 9 +8 GD
Yemen 3 -4 GD
Nepal 0 -14 GD

Group I:
Lebanon 0 Australia 5 at Canberra Stadium
Bangladesh 0 Palestine 1 at Bashundhara Kings Arena

Standings after MD 4:
Australia 12 +15 GD – qualified
Palestine 7 +5 GD
Lebanon 2 -7 GD
Bangladesh 1 -13 GD

Indonesia really doing well this window. China Singapore 1:1 with 30 left. Iraq belted The Philippines which is unfortunate as they've always worked on improving but Iraq are very good.

Indonesia up 2-0 over Vietnam at half time. Winning both their fixtures against the higher ranked Vietnamese will do the Indonesians a lot of good on the FIFA points table.

Sth Korea up 1-0 after 25 minutes. No fairy tale.

Pretty big clashes today with some teams about to be eliminated. India host Afghanistan and will be desperate to win after a goalless draw last. China Singapore is interesting. Malaysia Oman in a crucial cracker while Thailand hosting South Korea is the pick of the round. 

They don't anymore. It was more a nuisance for calculating the second placed table manually than anything. A quick glance shows no one really ran afoul of it with the higher ranked teams having gotten plenty of points against everyone except the last placed minnows. Still, as Asia was getting more competitive there was the concern that it might come across as unfair for closer groups. I basically hoped that teams I didn't want to advance slipped up way more against 3rd and 4th and the 5th placed routs wouldn't be considered.

Perhaps focusing more downwards there was a harsher effect for eliminated teams still jostled for Asian Cup qualifying positions and that is something our current round still has so there's plenty to play for. Top 2 this time gets you straight into the next Asian Cup. Group D is red hot with Oman, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan all on 6 points. Iraq's late winner against The Philippines and UAE eventually beating Yemen was unfortunate as draws would've made those groups a bit more exciting. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_%E2%80%93_AFC_second_round#Format

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_%E2%80%93_AFC_second_round#Format

Eh, they do (did?) it in UEFA with qualifiers as well, so that's nothing new to me. But I guess the difference is, that was built into the system from the start, not as a result of someone withdrawing.

North Korea create way too much annoyance with qualifiers. Their withdrawal and Indonesia's suspension threw the old systems out of whack where results against last place teas didn't count to second place ranking. This benefited and adversely affected others. 

Interesting... I wonder if this means Japan gets the 3-0 win? or 5-0. Or whatever the forfeit scoreline is these days.

https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/articles/korea-dpr-japan-afc-update

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/asian_qualifiers/news/latest_update_on_afc_asian_qualifiers.html

FIFA World Cup/AFC Asian Cup round two joint qualifying – MD 3 results,

Group A:
Qatar 3 Kuwait 0 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
Afghanistan 0 India 0 at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium

Standings after MD 3:
Qatar 9 +13 GD
India 4 -2 GD
Kuwait 3 +0 GD
Afghanistan 1 -11 GD

Group B:
Japan 1 North Korea 0 at National Stadium (Tokyo)
Myanmar 1 Syria 1 at Thuwunna Stadium

Standings after MD 3:
Japan 9 +11 GD
Syria 4 -4 GD
North Korea 3 +3 GD
Myanmar 1 -10 GD

Group C:
South Korea 1 Thailand 1 at Seoul World Cup Stadium
Singapore 2 China 2 at National Stadium (Singapore)

Standings after MD 3:
South Korea 7 +8 GD
Thailand 4 +1 GD
China 4 -2 GD
Singapore 1 -7 GD

Group D:
Chinese Taipei 0 Kyrgyzstan 2 at Nanzih Football Stadium
Oman 2 Malaysia 0 at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex

Standings after MD 3:
Oman 6 +4 GD
Kyrgyzstan 6 +2 GD
Malaysia 6 +0 GD
Chinese Taipei 0 -6 GD

Group E:
Hong Kong 0 Uzbekistan 2 at Mong Kok Stadium
Iran 5 Turkmenistan 0 at Azadi Stadium

Standings after MD 3:
Iran 7 +9 GD
Uzbekistan 7 +4 GD
Hong Kong 1 -6 GD
Turkmenistan 1 -7 GD

Group F:
Indonesia 1 Vietnam 0 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium
Iraq 1 Philippines 0 at Basra International Stadium

Standings after MD 3:
Iraq 9 +6 GD
Indonesia 4 -3 GD
Vietnam 3 +0 GD
Philippines 1 -3 GD

Group G:
Pakistan 0 Jordan 3 at Jinnah Sports Stadium
Saudi Arabia 1 Tajikistan 0 at King Saud University Stadium

Standings after MD 3:
Saudi Arabia 9 +7 GD
Tajikistan 4 +4 GD
Jordan 4 +1 GD
Pakistan 0 -12 GD

Group H:
United Arab Emirates 2 Yemen 1 at Al Nahyan Stadium
Nepal 0 Bahrain 5 at Bahrain National Stadium

Standings after MD 3:
United Arab Emirates 9 +7 GD
Bahrain 6 +5 GD
Yemen 3 -1 GD
Nepal 0 -11 GD

Group I:
Australia 2 Lebanon 0 at Western Sydney Stadium
Palestine 5 Bangladesh 0 at Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium

Standings after MD 3:
Australia 9 +10 GD
Palestine 4 +4 GD
Lebanon 2 -2 GD
Bangladesh 1 -12 GD

M comes before S I suppose

What is this Melbourne time business?  Is it still back in the 1980s?

FIFA World Cup/AFC Asian Cup round two joint qualifying – MD 1 & MD 2 results,

Group A:
Qatar 8 Afghanistan 1
Kuwait 0 India 1
India 0 Qatar 3
Afghanistan 0 Kuwait 4

Group B:
Japan 5 Myanmar 0
Syria 1 North Korea 0
Myanmar 1 North Korea 6
Syria 0 Japan 5

Group C:
South Korea 5 Singapore 0
Thailand 1 China 2
China 0 South Korea 3
Singapore 1 Thailand 3

Group D:
Malaysia 4 Kyrgyzstan 3
Oman 3 Chinese Taipei 0
Chinese Taipei 0 Malaysia 1
Kyrgyzstan 1 Oman 0

Group E:
Turkmenistan 1 Uzbekistan 3
Iran 4 Hong Kong 0
Hong Kong 2 Turkmenistan 2
Uzbekistan 2 Iran 2

Group F:
Philippines 0 Vietnam 2
Iraq 5 Indonesia 1
Philippines 1 Indonesia 1
Vietnam 0 Iraq 1

Group G:
Tajikistan 1 Jordan 1
Saudi Arabia 4 Pakistan 0
Pakistan 1 Tajikistan 6
Jordan 0 Saudi Arabia 2

Group H:
United Arab Emirates 4 Nepal 0
Yemen 0 Bahrain 2
Nepal 0 Yemen 2
Bahrain 0 United Arab Emirates 2

Group I:
Australia 7 Bangladesh 0
Lebanon 0 Palestine 0
Bangladesh 1 Lebanon 1
Palestine 0 Australia 1

Group A standings:
Qatar 6 +10 GD
Kuwait 3 +3 GD
India 3 -2 GD
Afghanistan 0 -11 GD

Group B standings:
Japan 6 +10 GD
North Korea 3 +4 GD
Syria 3 -4 GD
Myanmar 0 -10 GD

Group C standings:
South Korea 6 +8 GD
Thailand 3 +1 GD
China 3 -2 GD
Singapore 0 -7 GD

Group D standings:
Malaysia 6 +2 GD
Oman 3 +2 GD
Kyrgyzstan 3 +0 GD
Chinese Taipei 0 -4 GD

Group E standings:
Iran 4 +4 GD
Uzbekistan 4 +2 GD
Turkmenistan 1 -2 GD
Hong Kong 1 -4 GD

Group F standings:
Iraq 6 +5 GD
Vietnam 3 +1 GD
Philippines 1 -2 GD
Indonesia 1 -4 GD

Group G standings:
Saudi Arabia 6 +6 GD
Tajikistan 4 +5 GD
Jordan 1 -2 GD
Pakistan 0 -9 GD

Group H standings:
United Arab Emirates 6 +6 GD
Bahrain 3 +0 GD
Yemen 3 +0 GD
Nepal 0 -6 GD

Group I standings:
Australia 6 +8 GD
Lebanon 2 +0 GD
Palestine 1 -1 GD
Bangladesh 1 -7 GD

FIFA World Cup/AFC Asian Cup round two joint qualifying – MD 3 fixtures,

Thursday March 21st:
8.00pm Melbourne Time Pakistan v Jordan at Jinnah Sports Stadium
8.10pm Melbourne Time Australia v Lebanon at Western Sydney Stadium
9.20pm Melbourne Time Japan v North Korea at National Stadium (Tokyo)
10.00pm Melbourne Time South Korea v Thailand at Seoul World Cup Stadium
10.00pm Melbourne Time Chinese Taipei v Kyrgyzstan at Taipei Municipal Stadium
10.30pm Melbourne Time Myanmar v Syria at Thuwunna Stadium
11.00pm Melbourne Time Hong Kong v Uzbekistan at Mong Kok Stadium
11.30pm Melbourne Time Singapore v China at National Stadium (Singapore)

Friday March 22nd:
12.15am Melbourne Time Nepal v Bahrain at Dasharath Rangasala Stadium
12.30am Melbourne Time Indonesia v Vietnam at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium
3.00am Melbourne Time Iran v Turkmenistan at Azadi Stadium
5.00am Melbourne Time Oman v Malaysia at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex
5.00am Melbourne Time United Arab Emirates v Yemen at Al Nahyan Stadium
5.30am Melbourne Time Qatar v Kuwait at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
5.30am Melbourne Time Palestine v Bangladesh at Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium
6.00am Melbourne Time Afghanistan v India at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
6.00am Melbourne Time Iraq v Philippines at Basra International Stadium
6.00am Melbourne Time Saudi Arabia v Tajikistan at King Saud University Stadium

FIFA World Cup/AFC Asian Cup round two joint qualifying – MD 4 fixtures,

Tuesday March 26th:
7.00pm Melbourne Time North Korea v Japan at Kim II Sung Stadium
7.45pm Melbourne Time Lebanon v Australia at Canberra Stadium*
8.30pm Melbourne Time Bangladesh v Palestine at Bashundhara Kings Arena
10.00pm Melbourne Time Philippines v Iraq at Rizal Memorial Stadium
11.00pm Melbourne Time China v Singapore at Tianjin Olympic Stadium
11.00pm Melbourne Time Vietnam v Indonesia at Mỹ Đình National Stadium
11.30pm Melbourne Time Thailand v South Korea at Rajamangala Stadium

Wednesday March 27th:
12.30am Melbourne Time India v Afghanistan at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
1.00am Melbourne Time Kyrgyzstan v Chinese Taipei at Dolen Omurzakov Stadium
1.00am Melbourne Time Malaysia v Oman at Bukit Jalil National Stadium
1.30am Melbourne Time Uzbekistan v Hong Kong at Milliy Stadium
2.00am Melbourne Time Turkmenistan v Iran at Ashgabat Stadium
2.00am Melbourne Time Tajikistan v Saudi Arabia at Pamir Stadium
5.00am Melbourne Time Jordan v Pakistan at Amman International Stadium
6.00am Melbourne Time Kuwait v Qatar at Ali Sabah Al Salem Stadium
6.00am Melbourne Time Syria v Myanmar at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium
6.00am Melbourne Time Bahrain v Nepal at Bahrain National Stadium
6.00am Melbourne Time Yemen v United Arab Emirates at Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium

*as per Canberra Times article last Friday.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8522322/socceroos-and-matildas-on-the-cusp-of-a-canberra-return/

Group of death 

Super interesting, thanks for that. 

I'd much rather be in that Pot 1 to have a chance of facing Saudi or Qatar from Pot 1. I'd welcome South Korea and you'd think they could do a lot of cleaning up for us. Just please, football god, can our other group opponents just have some draws for a change? The constant 3 points were menacing. Way away but Australia, South Korea, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan is tough, exciting and adventurous. You'd just hope a win against Iraq would be met with Uzbekistan drawing against Bahrain the same day.

Yes impact but not about being 2nd place. if we finish 2nd in the group that means we maybe lose some games to other teams which will lose many FIFA points which will cost us to be out of top 3 seed for the final round qualification..  The last stage qualification will be divided into 3 groups of 6 teams (top 2 thr to the world cup 2026). At the moment we are ranked number 3 in asia so won't face Japan & Iran but if we drop to 4-5 we might have to face Japan again in the next stage.

Do we know if finishing 2nd place in the group impacts seeding for the next round?

I reckon the groups are fairly even and I'd take Palestine any day over the six higher ranked teams in pot 2.

Either way no seeded team should have trouble finishing in the top 2 of their group.

on paper looks an easy group for australia

Yep this is the ideal scenario for these games. Wrap it up early so we can start cappin’ 

Surely November we can get the Mo Toure situation sorted. Give Iredale a run too. Ideally we pull ahead and hopefully for a change our opponents draw where we can then afford to actually experiment. 

Just shows how much better Asian is getting. We have more slots but this looks much tougher than 4 years ago for many teams. Also, it's only 4 teams and not 5 so perhaps that extra minnow match game some total point security. I just hope no one withdraws so we have the ridiculous rule that wins against the bottom team don't count which has bitten some lower teams of sneaking through over the years.

I've always wanted Guam or Maldives. Looks like it could very well happen this time.

When you look at it utterly rigged for Qatar, Oman and UAE. We got off lightly I think in that we have two European near teams plus hopefully Maldives which is less far.
Group F is cruel as the new system gave these 4 teams a dream to get to the next part but two will miss out. C is also very tough on Thailand but here's hoping they bump off China. Japan really with the exotics.