Dhaka – Bangladesh have been placed in Asian (AFC) Group E of the FIFA World Cup Qatar’2022 with the AFC Asian Cup’ 2019 winners Qatar, Oman, neighbouring India and Afghanistan.
The ceremonial draw for the eight-group round-2 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers was held in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
Bangladesh advanced to the round-2 of the tournament beating Laos in home and away matches.
The first round match will begin on September 5 this year and the final match is scheduled for June 9, 2020.
In the home and away basis Group E matches, Bangladesh will play Afghanistan on September 10 in Afghanistan, Qatar on October 10 in Bangladesh, India on October 15 in India, Oman on November 14 in Oman, Afghanistan on 26 March, 2020 in Bangladesh, Qatar on March 31 in Qatar, India on June 4 in Bangladesh and Oman on June 9 in Bangladesh.
At the end of round-2, the top sides from all eight groups, including the four best runners-up, will proceed to the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers. These 12 teams will also gain automatic qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
The remaining four runners-up from the eight groups will earn a direct entry to the third round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
The teams which finish third in their respective groups will also book a place in round-3 of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers along with the four best fourth-placed teams from all groups.
The other four fourth-placed teams and all the sides which finish bottom of their tables will start their 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers from the play-off round.
Since Qatar are the host nation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they gain automatic qualification and will not participate in the third round. If Bangladesh are able to finish runners-up behind Qatar in Group E, they will advance to round-3 of the qualifiers as group winners.
AFC Groupings:
Group A : China, Syria, Philippines, Maldives and Guam,
Group B : Australia, Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Kuwait and Nepal,
Group C : Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia
Group D : Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen and Singapore
Group E : Qatar, Oman, India, Afghanistan and Bangladesh
Group F : Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar and Mongolia,
Group G : UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia
Group H : South Korea, DPR Korea, Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka, UNB
