How would the AFC preliminaries look like with Australia in the mix? We'll assume all 45 members participate. In the present qualifiers Cambodia, Philippines, Bhutan and Brunei Darussalam did not enrol; Myanmar was excluded; Guam and Nepal whitdrew in the first stage. So, based on the present preliminary format (link), this how I think it will be First stage - 26 teams. - Cup system on a home and away basis. - The 26 lowest-ranked teams classified on the basis of the FIFA World Ranking published on 15 June 2005. - The teams will be split into 2 pots. Pot A containing the 13 countries ranked 20 to 32 (within AFC) and pot B containing the 13 countries ranked 33 to 45. - Teams will be paired by drawing one country from pot A and one country from pot B. There will then be a draw to determine which team plays the first leg of each tie at home. - The 13 winners advance to the second Stage. Pot A: Code: 105 Turkmenistan 107 Vietnam 111 Malaysia 113 Lebanon 123 Hong Kong 124 Yemen 130 Palestine 135 India 138 Tajikistan 141 Sri Lanka 142 Maldives 146 Myanmar 152 Kyrgyzstan Pot B: Code: 153 Chinese Taipei 163 Laos 168 Bangladesh 175 Pakistan 178 Nepal 183 Mongolia 185 Cambodia 187 Philippines 188 Bhutan 190 Macao 199 Brunei Darussalam 200 Agfhanistan 204 Guam We'll assume teams from Pot A qualify for the second stage. Actually, teams from Pot B could also advance. Second stage - 8 groups of 4 teams will be drawn. - League system on a home and away basis. - The 32 teams will be classified on the basis of the AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ (we'll just sort them using the FIFA Rankings ) - 4 pots containing 8 teams each. - Pot A containing the 8 highest-ranked countries; pot B containing the countries ranked 9 to 16; pot C the countries ranked 17 to 24; pot D the countries ranked 25 to 32. Pot A Code: 17 Iran 18 Japan 20 Korea Republic 31 Saudi Arabia 51 Bahrain 52 Iraq 54 Jordan 54 Uzbekistan Pot B: Code: 56 Kuwait 57 [color=green][b]Australia[/b][/color] 61 China PR 63 Oman 74 Qatar 86 United Arab Emirates 88 Thailand 91 Indonesia Pot C: Code: 93 Syria 94 Korea DPR 99 Singapore 105 Turkmenistan 107 Vietnam 111 Malaysia 113 Lebanon 123 Hong Kong Pot D: Code: 124 Yemen 130 Palestine 135 India 138 Tajikistan 141 Sri Lanka 142 Maldives 146 Myanmar 152 Kyrgyzstan - The draw starts with pot D and ends with pot A. Each pot is entirely emptied before proceeding to the next pot. The teams are allocated to groups 1 to 8 in the order in which they are drawn in their respective position (see below) starting from left to right. - The teams in pot D are placed in position 4 in each group; the teams in pot C in position 3; the teams in pot B in position 2 and the teams in pot A in position 1. - The 8 winners of each group advance to the 3rd Stage. - We'll assume teams from Pot A advance to the next stage. Actually, teams from other pots may also qualify. I know the guys from Australia will certainly hope so. Third stage - 2 groups of 4 teams each will be drawn. - League system on a home and away basis. - 4 pots containing 2 teams each. - The 8 teams will be classified on the basis of the AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ (again, we'll just sort them using the FIFA Rankings ) - Pot A containing the top 2 ranked countries; pot B containing the countries ranked 3 and 4; pot C the countries ranked 5 and 6; pot D the countries ranked 7 and 8. Pot A: Code: 17 Iran 18 Japan Pot B Code: 20 Korea Republic 31 Saudi Arabia Pot C Code: 51 Bahrain 52 Iraq Pot D: Code: 54 Jordan 54 Uzbekistan - The draw starts with pot D and ends with pot A. Each pot is entirely emptied before proceeding to the next pot. The teams are allocated in the order in which they are drawn into groups 1 and 2 in their respective position (see below) starting from left to right. - The teams in pot D are placed in position 4 in each group; the teams in pot C in position 3; the teams in pot B in position 2 and the teams in pot A in position 1. - The first- and second-placed teams in each group qualify directly for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. - The 3rd placed team from each group will contest a two-leg play-off on a home and away basis. Play-off Asia/North, Central America and the Caribbean - The winner of the above play-off will play off with the 4th placed team of North, Central America and the Caribbean. Decisions as to the exact timings and which team should play the first leg at home will be passed by the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™ at a later date.
http://www.planetworldcup.com/GUESTS/peter20040113.html I don't think that's exactly how it works. The link is an article that says that they put the teams in pots this time based on World Cup qualifying (2002) preformance. So if that's the case, the eight teams still playing will be the eight seeds. I don't know how Australia goes into that.
First of all, look here. So as you can see, I followed the rules. There are 3 possibilities: 1. Australia goes to the World Cup. In this case, they will surely be in the top 8, along with Japan, Iran, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia and the 2 nations playing for the playoff (Kuwait and Bahrain). I think Uzbekistan would also be in the top 8, while Korea DPR would drop in the second pot (has 0 points in Group B, see here). 2. Australia loses to the 5th placed team in the OFC/CONMEBOL playoff. IMHO, they would still be in the top 8, as they would have reached the playoff for Germany 2006 and they would be in a similar position to Kuwait or Bahrain. So: Japan, Iran, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia would be above them. Also, Kuwait/Bahrain if they get to the WC. Top 8. 3. Australia loses to Solomon Islands in the Oceania playoff. Unlikely, but it's a possibility. They would be in the same position as the losing team in the Kuwait/Bahrain playoff. Still top 8. All this taken into account, the first pot in the second stage would be: Code: 17 Iran 18 Japan 20 Korea Republic 31 Saudi Arabia 51 Bahrain 54 Uzbekistan 56 Kuwait 57 [color=green][b]Australia[/b][/color] Of course, we will know more come September 6th, when the OFC playoff is over.
AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ (including Australia): First, the teams qualified for the World Cup (ranked by the number of points in the last stage. Of course, in the next qualifiers they will be ranked according to their WC 2006 performance). Then the nations who have reached a pre-play-off (i.e. they have to play 2 more teams in order to get to the WC). Then the nations eliminated in the last group stage. Then the teams eliminated in the AFC first group stage, ranked by the number of points in that phase and goal difference. Iran 13 Japan 12 Saudi Arabia 11 Korea Republic 10 Bahrain 4 Kuwait 4 Australia Uzbekistan 2 Korea DPR 0 China PR 15 Jordan 12 Iraq 11 (17-7) Lebanon 11 (11-5) Oman 10 (14-3) United Arab Emirates 10 (6-6) Qatar 9 Syria 8 Palestine 7 (11-11) Thailand 7 (9-10) Turkmenistan 7 (8-10) Indonesia 7 (8-12) Tajikistan 7 (5-9) Hong Kong 6 Yemen 5 Vietnam SR 4 (5-9) Kyrgyzstan 4 (5-12) Maldives 4 (5-14) India 4 (2-18) Singapore 3 Sri Lanka 2 Malaysia 0 (2-18) Chinese Taipei 0 (3-26) Laos 0 (3-33)
How would the AFC preliminaries look like with Australia in the mix? We'll assume all 45 members participate. In the present qualifiers Cambodia, Philippines, Bhutan and Brunei Darussalam did not enrol; Myanmar was excluded; Guam and Nepal whitdrew in the first stage. So, based on the present preliminary format (link) and on this article (thanks scaryice), this how I think it will be First stage - 26 teams. - Cup system on a home and away basis. - The 26 lowest-ranked teams classified on the basis of the FIFA World Ranking published on 15 June 2005 and the AFC Ranking in the FIFA World Cup Germany™ - The teams will be split into 2 pots. Pot A containing the 13 countries ranked 20 to 32 (within AFC) and pot B containing the 13 countries ranked 33 to 45. - Teams will be paired by drawing one country from pot A and one country from pot B. There will then be a draw to determine which team plays the first leg of each tie at home. - The 13 winners advance to the second Stage. Pot A: Code: 105 Turkmenistan 91 Indonesia 138 Tajikistan 123 Hong Kong 124 Yemen 107 Vietnam 152 Kyrgyzstan 142 Maldives 135 India 99 Singapore 141 Sri Lanka 111 Malaysia 153 Chinese Taipei Pot B: Code: 163 Laos 146 Myanmar 168 Bangladesh 175 Pakistan 178 Nepal 183 Mongolia 185 Cambodia 187 Philippines 188 Bhutan 190 Macao 199 Brunei Darussalam 200 Agfhanistan 204 Guam We'll assume teams from Pot A qualify for the second stage. Actually, teams from Pot B could also advance. Second stage - 8 groups of 4 teams will be drawn. - League system on a home and away basis. - The 32 teams will be classified on the basis of the AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ - 4 pots containing 8 teams each. - Pot A containing the 8 highest-ranked countries; pot B containing the countries ranked 9 to 16; pot C the countries ranked 17 to 24; pot D the countries ranked 25 to 32. Pot A Code: 17 Iran 18 Japan 31 Saudi Arabia 20 Korea Republic 51 Bahrain 56 Kuwait 57 [color=green][b]Australia[/b][/color] 54 Uzbekistan Pot B: Code: 94 Korea DPR 61 China PR 54 Jordan 52 Iraq 113 Lebanon 63 Oman 86 United Arab Emirates 74 Qatar Pot C: Code: 93 Syria 130 Palestine 88 Thailand 105 Turkmenistan 91 Indonesia 138 Tajikistan 123 Hong Kong 124 Yemen Pot D: Code: 107 Vietnam 152 Kyrgyzstan 142 Maldives 135 India 99 Singapore 141 Sri Lanka 111 Malaysia 153 Chinese Taipei - The draw starts with pot D and ends with pot A. Each pot is entirely emptied before proceeding to the next pot. The teams are allocated to groups 1 to 8 in the order in which they are drawn in their respective position (see below) starting from left to right. - The teams in pot D are placed in position 4 in each group; the teams in pot C in position 3; the teams in pot B in position 2 and the teams in pot A in position 1. - The 8 winners of each group advance to the 3rd Stage. - We'll assume teams from Pot A advance to the next stage. Actually, teams from other pots may also qualify. Third stage - 2 groups of 4 teams each will be drawn. - League system on a home and away basis. - 4 pots containing 2 teams each. - The 8 teams will be classified on the basis of the AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ - Pot A containing the top 2 ranked countries; pot B containing the countries ranked 3 and 4; pot C the countries ranked 5 and 6; pot D the countries ranked 7 and 8. Pot A: Code: 17 Iran 18 Japan Pot B Code: 31 Saudi Arabia 20 Korea Republic Pot C Code: 51 Bahrain 56 Kuwait Pot D: Code: 57 [color=green][b]Australia[/b][/color] 54 Uzbekistan - The draw starts with pot D and ends with pot A. Each pot is entirely emptied before proceeding to the next pot. The teams are allocated in the order in which they are drawn into groups 1 and 2 in their respective position (see below) starting from left to right. - The teams in pot D are placed in position 4 in each group; the teams in pot C in position 3; the teams in pot B in position 2 and the teams in pot A in position 1. - The first- and second-placed teams in each group qualify directly for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. - The 3rd placed team from each group will contest a two-leg play-off on a home and away basis. Play-off Asia/North, Central America and the Caribbean - The winner of the above play-off will play off with the 4th placed team of North, Central America and the Caribbean. Decisions as to the exact timings and which team should play the first leg at home will be passed by the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™ at a later date.
regardless of how they fall, australia will be an immediate favorite to claim a spot - their starting lineup is very experienced and mostly taken from the premiership - by 2009, guys like kewell, cahill, neill, culina and bresciano will be ready to rock finally having a straight shot to a WC berth btw, great work edgar
I hope Australia will be in the first pot. Imagine drawing Japan in the first group stage, when only the group winner advances. It would prove quite difficult. We'll see what preliminary format will the AFC Comitee come up with. Thanks
Damn China is in Pot 2 I just hope China will not be grouped with Iran, South Korea, Japan, Australia or Saudi Arabia. But according of the post of Edgar we could see a group like: Iran, South Korea, Australia, China. Imagine if that happens, because if Australia goes to WC they will be 7th in the ranking of Asia and if China also goes to second round by defeating for example Bahrain they will become 6th (Australia) and China 7th/8th
Well, the top 7 teams may switch places among them. Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea are already qualified for the WC. Kuwait, Bahrain, Australia have to defeat 2 more teams in order to get to Germany. If Australia manages to qualify, then it will be ranked according to their performance at the WC, so it's possible they get first place in the AFC Rankings. Even if Australia doesn't make it to Germany, I think they will defeat the Solomon Islands. They will be in the 3rd pot in the last group stage, as Kuwait or Bahrain will drop in the 4th. Again, those are my thoughts. Who knows what the AFC will do? For all I know, they could place Australia in the last pot or completely transform the preliminary format.
I'm pretty sure commercial considerations alone mean the format will be changed. Having China miss out on the groups was a bad result, and the addition of Australia (possibly) to the "non-seeded" pots could make things even worse. Sure, if Australia and Japan were in the same group I'd favour Japan, but it wouldn't be a certainty and the loss of Japan (or S.Korea or Iran or Saudi Arabia) from the qualifiers is bad for business. My alternative suggestion is pretty close to now. I - Two round of preliminary qualifiers of home-away knock-out. The first gets us from n teams (number of entries) down to 36. The second has 12 exempt teams and we get down to 24. II - Six groups of 4 - top two advance III - Two groups of 6 - top two qualify, thirds to po and then po v OFC. Why? Stage I is affordable to the small teams - who appear to want to enter the WCQuals, but don't actually want to advance to a group stage which they can't afford (ie Guam). Some middle ranked teams get 2 sets of matches rather than 1. Second stage is not so cut-throat as this time - so likely 2nd seeds China, Thailand (and maybe Australia) won't be eliminated (or eliminate Japan and co). Third Stage will be longer than this time around - which (IMHO) has been a bit quick to finish (it seemed sewn up after just 4 games). It would be likely that the 6th team in each group is going to be beaten up a little bit - but avoiding byes is preferable to limiting the size to 5. Issues? Compared with Concacaf this time around you either need to play the 1st qualifying round before the draw (as AFC did this time) or find 2 more match days during the 2 year schedule (for the AFC play-off effectively - unless you play it as a one-off in late October 2009 - which is also a possibility). I can't bothered doing the full group, but the first group stage pots might look something like this (assuming Aus is ranked 6th, Bahrain 5th and Kuwait 7th and everything else ended today). POT A: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Australia POT B: Kuwait, Uzbekistan, North Korea, China, Jordan, Iraq POT C: Lebanon, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Syria, Thailand POT D: Indonesia, Turkmenistan, Palestine, Tajikistan, Hong Kong, Yemen Frankly, with 2 going through, Australia going into Pot D doesn't cause as much trouble. A possible groupwould be: Bahrain, China, Qatar, Turkmenistan or Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong (did a random draw). DOing a very simple "qualifying" scheme (added a random number 1-100 to their current FIFA rank and took the two smallest from each group). Top two in each group advance - and (LOL) China got eliminated by Qatar (i didn't cheat ) and Jordan beat South Korea (for 1st in group). One group I got was Australia, North Korea, Thailand, Indonesia - with the last three almost equal on FIFA ranks the bottom ranked side (Indonesia) gets lucky and advances as well. Stage III has six pots of two teams. Group winner (Pots A-C) and runners-up (Pots D-F) from Stage II are again ranked like this time. POT A: Iran, Japan POT B: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain POT C: Australia, Jordan POT D: S.Korea, Kuwait POT E: Uzbekistan, Iraq POT F: Qatar, Indonesia. Groups have a team from each pot. These would be interesting groups I think. Anyway, this is already a ridiculously long post, so I'll just shut-up. J
First stage First round: 18 teams (assuming all nations participate) Pot A: Code: 135 India 99 Singapore 141 Sri Lanka 111 Malaysia 153 Chinese Taipei 163 Laos 146 Myanmar 168 Bangladesh 175 Pakistan Pot B: Code: 178 Nepal 183 Mongolia 185 Cambodia 187 Philippines 188 Bhutan 190 Macao 199 Brunei Darussalam 200 Agfhanistan 204 Guam Second round: 24 teams Pot A: Code: 113 Lebanon 63 Oman 86 United Arab Emirates 74 Qatar 93 Syria 130 Palestine 88 Thailand 105 Turkmenistan 91 Indonesia 138 Tajikistan 123 Hong Kong 124 Yemen Pot B: Code: 107 Vietnam 152 Kyrgyzstan 142 Maldives 135 India 99 Singapore 141 Sri Lanka 111 Malaysia 153 Chinese Taipei 163 Laos 146 Myanmar 168 Bangladesh 175 Pakistan
suppose AFC retains 4.5, i'd like to see it try for 3 groups of 4 for the final round. 3 first finishers quallify, and one of the 2nd place teams P/O against a team from other confed whild the other two of 2nd place teams face each other.
In a one-off match, I'd agree with you. But in a 4-team round robin, I think the edge still goes to Japan simply because of experience. Now, I think entering the 2007 Asian Cup is quite possibly the best thing for Australia in their preparation for 2010. Even if the Aussies don't make the Finals (and with 4 co-hosts qualifying automatically, places are limited), they would get valuable experience playing meaningful games and gauging themselves against the rest of AFC. I wouldn't make too much of the overseas talent though. Kewell is fantastic when healthy and in-form, but when was the last time that was true? Viduka is a great finisher but he's past his peak. But more importantly, what makes or breaks a qualifying campaign is the quality of the mid-tier players and replacements for inevitable injuries and suspensions. Plus, it doesn't help that the coach was just fired.
My mistake, there are 46 members, including Australia. I forgot Timor Leste from ASEAN, but they are not in the FIFA Rankings yet. What's their status?
An update after the group stage AFC Ranking for the 5 AFC representatives at the WC2006 1. Australia - only team to make it to the last 16 2. Korea Republic - 4 points 3. Iran - 1 point (2 - 6) 4. Japan - 1 point (2 - 7) 5. Saudi Arabia - 1 point (2 - 7) Japan is in 4th because they made 15 points in the AFC WCQ last stage. Saudi Arabia made 14. Possible scenario for the AFC WCQ for South Africa 2010. First stage - 28 teams. - Cup system on a home and away basis. - The 28 lowest-ranked teams classified on the basis of the FIFA World Ranking published on 17 May 2006 and the AFC Ranking in the FIFA World Cup Germany™ - The teams will be split into 2 pots. Pot A containing the 14 countries ranked 19 to 32 (within AFC) and pot B containing the 13 countries ranked 33 to 46. - Teams will be paired by drawing one country from pot A and one country from pot B. There will then be a draw to determine which team plays the first leg of each tie at home. - The 14 winners advance to the second Stage. Pot A: Code: 108 Thailand 120 Turkmenistan 110 Indonesia 121 Tajikistan 116 Hong Kong 132 Yemen 126 Vietnam 147 Kyrgyzstan 137 Maldives 117 India 92 Singapore 136 Sri Lanka 127 Malaysia 156 Chinese Taipei Pot B: Code: 172 Laos 140 Bangladesh 192 Macau 153 Pakistan 179 Mongolia 188 Afghanistan 149 Myanmar 169 Nepal 184 Cambodia 190 Bhutan 191 Philippines 193 Brunei Darussalam 203 Guam 206 Timor Leste We'll assume teams from Pot A qualify for the second stage. Actually, teams from Pot B could also advance. Second stage - 8 groups of 4 teams will be drawn. - League system on a home and away basis. - The 32 teams will be classified on the basis of the AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ - 4 pots containing 8 teams each. - Pot A containing the 8 highest-ranked countries; pot B containing the countries ranked 9 to 16; pot C the countries ranked 17 to 24; pot D the countries ranked 25 to 32. Pot A: Code: 42 Australia 29 Korea Republic 23 Iran 18 Japan 34 Saudi Arabia 54 Bahrain 60 Uzbekistan 74 Kuwait Pot B: Code: 88 Korea DPR 68 China PR 84 Jordan 52 Iraq 122 Lebanon 82 Oman 71 United Arab Emirates 78 Qatar Pot C: Code: 90 Syria 115 Palestine 108 Thailand 120 Turkmenistan 110 Indonesia 121 Tajikistan 116 Hong Kong 132 Yemen Pot D: Code: 126 Vietnam 147 Kyrgyzstan 137 Maldives 117 India 92 Singapore 136 Sri Lanka 127 Malaysia 156 Chinese Taipei - The draw starts with pot D and ends with pot A. Each pot is entirely emptied before proceeding to the next pot. The teams are allocated to groups 1 to 8 in the order in which they are drawn in their respective position (see below) starting from left to right. - The teams in pot D are placed in position 4 in each group; the teams in pot C in position 3; the teams in pot B in position 2 and the teams in pot A in position 1. - The 8 winners of each group advance to the 3rd Stage. - We'll assume teams from Pot A advance to the next stage. Actually, teams from other pots may also qualify. Third stage - 2 groups of 4 teams each will be drawn. - League system on a home and away basis. - 4 pots containing 2 teams each. - The 8 teams will be classified on the basis of the AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ - Pot A containing the top 2 ranked countries; pot B containing the countries ranked 3 and 4; pot C the countries ranked 5 and 6; pot D the countries ranked 7 and 8. Pot A: Code: 42 Australia 29 Korea Republic Pot B: Code: 23 Iran 18 Japan Pot C: Code: 34 Saudi Arabia 54 Bahrain Pot D: Code: 60 Uzbekistan 74 Kuwait - The draw starts with pot D and ends with pot A. Each pot is entirely emptied before proceeding to the next pot. The teams are allocated in the order in which they are drawn into groups 1 and 2 in their respective position (see below) starting from left to right. - The teams in pot D are placed in position 4 in each group; the teams in pot C in position 3; the teams in pot B in position 2 and the teams in pot A in position 1.
FIFA ranking are crap but #57 After the World Cup Australia might be pushing top 30 in FIFA rankings ELO rankings (a much better ranking system) has us about 15th.
That was our ranking mid-way through last year, before Guus and our impressive record since. With the new ranking system coming in, it'll be interesting to see where we end up, i'm thinking top 30 at least, probably around 22-24. I think there'll be a lot of talk about allocatoins for each region after this cup, check out the 'why do people say CONCACAF is crap' thread for the discussions, but the balance for africa, asia and north america have all been questioned, which is fair enough considering how poorly each of those confederations usually does in the actual world cup.
For the records, Australia is now 42nd. As tfoz said, 57th was your ranking in June 2005. The FIFA Rankings only come into play to rank those teams that didn't take part in the AFC WCQ for Germany 2006. (Australia excluded as they qualified for Germany 2006). I listed the FIFA Ranking to show more info about each team. I'm pretty sure FIFA won't be using the Eloratings to rank the teams that didn't participate in the last WCQ. AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ (including Australia): First, the 5 teams qualified for the World Cup (ranked by performance in Germany 2006, then by performance in the AFC WCQ) Then Bahrain - loser of the AFC-CONCACAF play-off. Then Uzbekistan - loser of the AFC play-off. Then the nations eliminated in the last group stage, ranked by the number of points in that phase and goal difference. Then the teams eliminated in the AFC first group stage, ranked by the number of points in that phase and goal difference. Then the teams eliminate in the AFC first stage, ranked by number of points in that phase and goal difference. Then the teams that either didn't take part in the last AFC WCQ or withdrew (Guam and Nepal) More info on the AFC Ranking system -> PlanetWorldCup.com AFC Ranking in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ 1. Australia 2. Korea Republic 3. Iran 4. Japan 5. Saudi Arabia 6. Bahrain 7. Uzbekistan 8. Kuwait 9. Korea DPR 10. China 11. Jordan 12. Iraq 13. Lebanon 14. Oman 15. United Arab Emirates 16. Qatar 17. Syria 18. Palestine 19. Thailand 20. Turkmenistan 21. Indonesia 22. Tajikistan 23. Hong Kong 24. Yemen 25. Vietnam 26. Kyrgyzstan 27. Maldives 28. India 29. Singapore 30. Sri Lanka 31. Malaysia 32. Chinese Taipei 33. Laos 34. Bangladesh 35. Macau 36. Pakistan 37. Mongolia 38. Afghanistan 39. Myanmar 40. Nepal 41. Cambodia 42. Bhutan 43. Philippines 44. Brunei Darussalam 45. Guam 46. Timor Leste Based on these rankings, this is how the AFC WCQ 2010 would look like if all the AFC members enter the qualifiers -> link. AFC will most likely use the same system even if they will lose some of their WC places. The system may change if the OFC winner will join the AFC final group stage, as suggested by Blatter in December 2005 -> link
Not that long FIFA should announce the new spot allocation in December 2006. Then the AFC will have to come up with the new qualifying system. But this thread has served its purpose. With the group stage ended, we now know the AFC ranking for WC2006.
Lebanon better than UAE and Oman? Jordan better than Iraq? Korea DPR better than China? what Kind of Ranking is that?