São Tomé e Príncipe, Central African Republic withdraw

The withdrawal of two of the ten African teams in the preliminary rounds has caused chaos in the AFC qualification system. São Tomé e Príncipe and the Central African Republic exit the tournament, giving two teams a newfound pass into the second phase. These teams are not the teams that were drawn against São Tomé e Príncipe and the Central African Republic, but rather the two highest seeded African teams in the first phase. Swaziland and Seychelles advance. The new match dates and ties are below.

October 14, 2007
Comoros at Madagascar

October 17, 2007
Guinea-Bissau at Sierra Leone

November 16, 2007
Somalia at Djibouti

November 17, 2007
Madagascar at Comoros
Sierra Leone at Guinea-Bissau

Note that in place of a two-legged playoff, Somalia and Djibouti will play only one match, an elimination game in Djibouti. This was due to unsafe conditions in Somalia.