2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round
The first round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification) was played from 12 to 23 March 2015.[1]
Contents
1 Format
2 Seeding
3 Summary
4 Matches
5 Goalscorers
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
Format
A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 35–46 in the AFC entrant list) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
Seeding
The draw for the first round was held on 10 February 2015, 15:30 MST (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[2]
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015 (shown in parentheses below).[3][4] The 12 teams were seeded into two pots:
- Pot A contained the teams ranked 1–6 (i.e., 35–40 in the AFC entrant list).
- Pot B contained the teams ranked 7–12 (i.e., 41–46 in the AFC entrant list).
Each tie contained a team from Pot A and a team from Pot B, with the team from Pot A hosting the first leg.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round.
| Pot A | Pot B |
|---|---|
|
|
Summary
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
India  | 2–0 |  Nepal | 2–0 | 0–0 |
Yemen  | 3–1 |  Pakistan | 3–1 | 0–0 |
Timor-Leste  | 0–6[N 1] |  Mongolia | 0–3[N 1] | 0–3[N 1] |
Cambodia  | 4–1 |  Macau | 3–0 | 1–1 |
Chinese Taipei  | 2–1 |  Brunei | 0–1 | 2–0 |
Sri Lanka  | 1–3 |  Bhutan | 0–1 | 1–2 |
- Notes
^ abc Timor-Leste won the first leg 4–1 and the second leg 1–0, thus winning 5–1 on aggregate and advancing to the Second Round. On 12 December 2017 FIFA awarded both matches 3–0 to Mongolia due to Timor-Leste fielding numerous ineligible players. However, this was long after the Second Round had been played so Timor-Leste advanced and Mongolia were not reinstated.
Matches
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12 March 2015 (2015-03-12)
19:00 UTC+5:30
| India | 2–0 | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
53Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati
Attendance: 11,200
Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)
17 March 2015 (2015-03-17)
15:30 UTC+5:45
| Nepal | 0–0 | India |
|---|---|---|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu
Attendance: 10,500
Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)
India won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
12 March 2015 (2015-03-12)
18:30 UTC+3
| Yemen | 3–1 | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha (Qatar)[note 1]
Attendance: 300
Referee: Mohammad Abu Loum (Jordan)
23 March 2015 (2015-03-23)[note 2]
18:30 UTC+3
| Pakistan | 0–0 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Khalifa Sports City Stadium, Isa Town (Bahrain)[note 2]
Attendance: 2,200
Referee: Ali Sabah Adday Al-Qaysi (Iraq)
Yemen won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
12 March 2015 (2015-03-12)
16:00 UTC+9
| Timor-Leste | 0–3 Forfeited[12] | Mongolia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
National Stadium, Dili
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Sivakorn Pu-Udom (Thailand)
17 March 2015 (2015-03-17)
16:00 UTC+8
| Mongolia | 3–0 Forfeited[12] | Timor-Leste |
|---|---|---|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
MFF Football Centre, Ulan Bator
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Wang Di (China)
Timor-Leste won the first leg 4–1 and the second leg 1–0, thus winning 5–1 on aggregate and advancing to the Second Round. On 12 December 2017 FIFA awarded both matches 3–0 to Mongolia due to Timor-Leste fielding numerous ineligible players.[13] However, this was long after the Second Round had been played so Timor-Leste advanced and Mongolia were not reinstated.
12 March 2015 (2015-03-12)
16:00 UTC+7
| Cambodia | 3–0 | Macau |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Army Stadium, Phnom Penh
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Ho Wai Sing (Hong Kong)
17 March 2015 (2015-03-17)
20:00 UTC+8
| Macau | 1–1 | Cambodia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Estádio Campo Desportivo, Macau
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)
Cambodia won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
12 March 2015 (2015-03-12)
19:00 UTC+8
| Chinese Taipei | 0–1 | Brunei |
|---|---|---|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
National Stadium, Kaohsiung
Attendance: 6,273
Referee: Rowan Arumughan (India)
17 March 2015 (2015-03-17)
20:15 UTC+8
| Brunei | 0–2 | Chinese Taipei |
|---|---|---|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)
Chinese Taipei won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
12 March 2015 (2015-03-12)
15:00 UTC+5:30
| Sri Lanka | 0–1 | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: Fu Ming (China)
17 March 2015 (2015-03-17)
16:00 UTC+6
| Bhutan | 2–1 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Marai Al-Awaji (Saudi Arabia)
Bhutan won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Goalscorers
There were 24 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.
- 2 goals
Chencho Gyeltshen
Chan Vathanaka
Sunil Chhetri
Chiquito do Carmo[note 3]
- 1 goal
- Tshering Dorji
Adi Said- Khoun Laboravy
- Thierry Bin
Chu En-le- Wang Rui
Leong Ka Hang
Batmönkhiin Erkhembayar[note 3]
Hassan Bashir
Subash Madushan- Patrick Fabiano[note 3]
- Jairo Neto[note 3]
- Rodrigo Silva[note 3]
Abdulwasea Al-Matari- Ala Al-Sasi
- Mohammed Boqshan
Notes
^ Yemen played their home match in Doha, Qatar due to security concerns from the 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état.[5]
^ ab Pakistan was originally scheduled to play their home match on 17 March 2015 (15:00 UTC+5) at Punjab Stadium, Lahore,[6] but it was postponed due to safety and security reasons after the Lahore church bombings and civil unrest in the city.[7][8] The match was subsequently rescheduled to be played in Bahrain.[9][10][11]
^ abcde This player scored in one of the matches between Timor-Leste and Mongolia that were subsequently forfeited, but FIFA continues to count the goalscorers from those matches in its statistics.
References
^ "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "India v Nepal headlines 2018 World Cup, 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers draw". AFC. 10 February 2015.
^ "Asian minnows begin World Cup mission". FIFA.com. 9 February 2015.
^ "FIFA Men's Ranking – January 2015 (AFC)". FIFA.com. 8 January 2015.
^ "Green-shirts resume camp ahead of major events". The News International (Pakistan). 13 February 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
^ "FIFA Match Report: Pakistan v Yemen". FIFA.com.
^ "Qualifier match between Pakistan and Yemen postponed". FIFA. 16 March 2015.
^ "Pakistan versus Yemen qualifier postponed due to safety concerns". AFC. 17 March 2015.
^ "Pakistan 2018 FIFA World Cup tie switched from Lahore to Bahrain". IBN Live. Reuters. 18 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
^ "Qualifying match between Pakistan and Yemen rescheduled". FIFA.com. 19 March 2015.
^ "Pakistan versus Yemen qualifier rescheduled". AFC. 20 March 2015.
^ ab "Federacao Futebol Timor-Leste expelled from AFC Asian Cup 2023". The-AFC.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
^ "Latest decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee". FIFA.com. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
External links
Official FIFA World Cup website
Qualifiers – Asia: Round 1, FIFA.com
FIFA World Cup, the-AFC.com
AFC Asian Cup, the-AFC.com
Preliminary Joint Qualification 2018, stats.the-AFC.com
