FIFA have ruled that Syria are disqualified from the 2014 Men’s World Cup qualifiers after fielding an ineligible player in their AFC second preliminary round series against Tajikistan. George MOURAD had previously played for Sweden and therefore could not represent Syria. The decision by FIFA’s disciplinary committee is to award both legs of the series to Tajikistan by 3-0 scorelines and to reinstate the Tajiks, placing them in first phase group C in place of Syria.

The draw for the AFC first group phase of qualifiers for Brazil 2014 resulted in many groups that are wide open. In Group C, Japan and Korea DPR, who both qualified for the last Men’s World Cup, are joined together and are also tested by Uzbekistan. Australia will face difficult tests from Saudi Arabia and Oman in Group D, whilst in Group E, any of Iran, Qatar, or Bahrain could end up qualifying. Two teams from each group advance to the second group phase, where there are four and one half qualifying places on offer. more...

At the qualifying draw for Brazil 2014, the draw for the AFC first group phase will be made. The fifteen teams that survived the preliminary rounds join the byed teams – Australia, Bahrain, Japan, Korea DPR, and Korea Rep. The five groups will each receive one team from each pot. Ten teams will advance to the second group phase, which will have its own draw later. more...

A quick summary of action around the AFC second preliminary round on THU 28 JUL 2011. Series aggregate results are shown below. more...

A quick summary of action around the AFC second preliminary round on SAT 23 JUL 2011. more...

The AFC qualifiers for the 2014 Men’s World Cup will proceed largely the same as for the previous tournament. 38 teams compete in the preliminary rounds, of which 16 are unseeded and must play a semifinal series first. The 15 winners of the final serieses then proceed to the first group phase with five teams that received byes. These teams compete in five groups of four; the top two advance to the second group phase and form two groups of five. The top two in each group qualify, and the third placed teams face one another in the playoffs. The winner then meets an opponent from another confederation. more...