World Cup 2010 Asian Qualifiers
The minor nations in the Asia region will be play a first round of
qualifiers this month, ranked based on previous World Cup
performance. After Bhutan and Guam withdrew, Kuwait and Indonesia
were given a bye into the second round.
In round one, there will be 17 two-legged ties. From the remaining
19 nations, the top 11 ranked teams will automatically move into
round three (Kuwait are guaranteed this while Indonesia's fate
depends which other nations win). The eight lowest ranked nations
will play another two-legged play-off. This will take a total of 15
teams into round three.
Australia, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and now
also Kuwait will not join in qualifying until the third round next
year. The 20 nations will be drawn into five groups of
four teams playing on a round-robin basis. The top two teams in
each group qualify for the fourth round.
Match dates in 2008: February 6, March 26, June 7, June 14,
September 6, September 10.
In Round Four, the ten nations which are left are drawn into two
groups of five. The top two teams will qualify for the World
Cup.
Match dates in 2008: October 15, November 19.
Match dates in 2009: February 11, March 28, April 1, June 6, June
10, June 17, September 5, September 9.
The two teams which finish third will then play-off and the winning
nation then faces a further play-off against a country from Oceania
for a place in South Africa.
Play-off dates: October 10, 2009 and October 14, 2009. Then
November 14, 2009 and November 21, 2009.
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So..we've got a long way to go.. and I would be happy if Singapore
can play well enough to even reach Round 3 where the giants above
are.
