User:Mpejkrm/Sandbox/Wolfsburg 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

The AFC qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup consisted of four rounds of competition, in which the 46 member nations competed for three automatic berths at the finals in Russia.

Format
The qualification structure is as follows:
 * First round: A total of 10 teams (teams ranked 36–45) will play home-and-away over two legs. The five winners will advance to the second round.
 * Second round: A total of 40 teams (teams ranked 1–35 and five first round winners) will be divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up will advance to the final stage.
 * Final stage: The 12 teams which advance from the second round will be divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams will advance to the playoff.
 * Playoffs: The two third-placed teams of each group from the final round will play home-and-away over two legs. The winner will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants
45 of AFC's 46 FIFA-affiliated members entered qualification; Myanmar did not enter.

Teams in bold qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

First round
The first round of the AFC qualifiers saw the bottom 10 teams being paired up into five home-and-away series. The winners of these series proceeded to the second round.

The matchups were announced by FIFA on 2 March 2015. The 5 winners (in bold, below) advanced to the second round of the AFC qualifiers.


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Second round
The draw for the second round was made on 6 April 2015.

Playoffs
The third placed team from each of the two groups in the final stage played a two-legged playoff. The winner advanced to the inter-confederation playoffs.


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