AFC Round Four Schedule

Before the draw, Japan were designated the fourth seed and were placed into Pot B. Saudi Arabia became the fifth seed and were put into Pot C.

These are the results of the draw. The schedule is below the group alineations, and the numbers indicate the countries' ELO ratings.

Group A
40 Australia
23 Japan
74 Bahrain
51 Uzbekistan
76 Qatar

Group B
44 South Korea
29 Iran
41 Saudi Arabia
67 North Korea
95 United Arab Emirates

Australia and Qatar have been drawn together again, Japan and Bahrain will be familiar with one another, the Koreas fight again, and Iran and the United Arab Emirates will play for a third and fourth time in Round Four.

I am electing Australia and Uzbekistan to advance straight to the World Cup out of Group A, and I like Iran and Saudi Arabia to advance from Group B. I foresee Japan and United Arab Emirates as the two teams in the 5th-place playoff. Here is the schedule.

September 6, 2008
Japan at Bahrain
Uzbekistan at Qatar
Iran at Saudi Arabia
North Korea at United Arab Emirates

September 10, 2008
Australia at Uzbekistan
Bahrain at Qatar
South Korea at North Korea
Saudi Arabia at United Arab Emirates

October 15, 2008
Qatar at Australia
Uzbekistan at Japan
United Arab Emirates at South Korea
North Korea at Iran

November 19, 2008
Japan at Qatar
Australia at Bahrain
Iran at United Arab Emirates
South Korea at Saudi Arabia

February 11, 2009
Bahrain at Uzbekistan
Australia at Japan
Saudi Arabia at North Korea
South Korea at Iran

March 28, 2009
Bahrain at Japan
Qatar at Uzbekistan
Saudi Arabia at Iran
United Arab Emirates at North Korea

April 1, 2009
Uzbekistan at Australia
Qatar at Bahrain
North Korea at South Korea
United Arab Emirates at Saudi Arabia

June 6, 2009
Australia at Qatar
Japan at Uzbekistan
South Korea at United Arab Emirates
Iran at North Korea

June 10, 2009
Qatar at Japan
Bahrain at Australia
United Arab Emirates at Iran
Saudi Arabia at South Korea

June 17, 2009
Uzbekistan at Bahrain
Japan at Australia
North Korea at Saudi Arabia
Iran at South Korea

Qatar remain among the ten qualifiers for Asia’s Round Four despite the calls by Iraq for the disqualification of the Qataris for using an ineligible player. The Iraqis claimed that Emerson, a Brazilian native, was not a legal member of the Qatar national team. They noted that he had represented Brazil in youth competitions and should not have been available to play for Qatar. FIFA denied Iraq’s appeal, saying that it was filed too late, but Emerson has been deemed ineligible to represent Qatar in Round Four. FIFA’s official statement reads as follows: “The player is not eligible to play for Qatar and cannot play any further matches for the representative team of Qatar.”