China set for underdog role in World Cup qualifying

10 games over the next 12 months will determine whether or not China can qualify for the FIFA World Cup for just the second time in history. 

The third and final round of AFC qualifying for the 2018 World Cup gets underway on Thursday evening, and China couldn’t face a tougher start. An away game in Seoul against South Korea (Asia’s second-ranked team) will be followed by a home game in Shenyang next week against Iran (the continent’s top-ranked team).

12 teams have been split into two groups, listed below. They will play home-and-away in a round-robin format until September next year, with the top two in each group automatically qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The two third-place teams will then face each other over two legs, with the winner playing the fourth-placed team from the fifth round of CONCACAF qualifiers in a two-legged playoff for the final chance to make the World Cup.

Group A: Iran (FIFA ranking 39), South Korea (48), Uzbekistan (55), China (78), Qatar (80) and Syria (105).

Group B: Japan (49), Australia (57), Saudi Arabia (61), the UAE (74), Iraq (113) and Thailand (120).

Author: AsiaSportsBusiness

Website: Tanner Simkins @TannerSimkins