The two West Asian teams join Australia, Bahrain, Iran, Japan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Uzbekistan as the final 10 teams who will contest the last round of Asian qualifying for football’s showpiece tournament.

Qatar’s 1-0 win over Asian champions Iraq in Dubai, thanks to a Syed Bashir goal in the 77th minute, saw the Asian Games gold medalists climb to second position behind Australia, even on points but trailing on goals record, in Group 1.

The UAE scraped past a determined Syria despite suffering a 3-1 defeat at home. Jehad Al Hussein struck twice and Firas Al Katib added a third for the Syrians while Ismail Matar scored a decisive penalty for the hosts which left the two sides on seven points, helping the UAE to squeeze through on superior goal difference.

The draw for the final round on June 27 will now see the 10 teams divided into two groups of five each based on their showing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The top five seeds for the fourth round draw as confirmed by FIFA are:

1) Australia
2) Korea Republic
3) Iran
4) Saudi Arabia and Japan (joint-fourth)

Since all the top five seeds have qualified for the fourth round, Japan and Saudi Arabia, who are tied fourth, will be separated by a draw.

THE DRAW MECHANISM

POT 1
Rank 1 - Australia
Rank 2 – Korea Republic

POT 2
Rank 3 - Iran
Rank 4 – Japan/Saudi Arabia

POT 3
Rank 5 – Japan/Saudi Arabia
Rank 6 - Bahrain

POT 4
Rank 7 - Uzbekistan
Rank 8 – DPR Korea
Rank 9 - UAE
Rank 10 – Qatar


THE PROCEDURE

Step 1: Teams will be divided into 4 pots according to ranking. Ranking will be based on the 2006 FIFA World Cup as approved by FIFA.
(There will be a draw to separate Japan and Saudi Arabia as they are currently tied fourth. First ball drawn will be put into Pot 2 as the 4th ranked team.)

Step 2: Teams to be drawn out of Pot 4. First ball drawn into position A5; second ball drawn into position B5, third ball drawn into position A4; fourth ball drawn into position B4

Step 3: Teams to be drawn out of Pot 3. First ball drawn into position A3; second ball drawn into position B3

Step 4: Teams to be drawn out of Pot 2. First ball drawn into position A2; second ball drawn into position B2

Step 5: Teams to be drawn out of Pot 1. First ball drawn into position A1; second ball drawn into position B1

MATCH SCHEDULE (TENTATIVE)

TWO GROUPS OF FIVE: HOME AND AWAY

MD 1: September 6, 2008 - 3 v 2, 5 v 4 (1 bye)
MD 2: September 10, 2008 - 4 v 1; 5 v 3 (2 bye)
MD 3: October 15, 2008 - 1 v 5; 2 v 4 (3 bye)
MD 4: November 19, 2008 - 5 v 2; 3 v 1 (4 bye)
MD 5: February 11, 2009 - 4 v 3; 2 v 1 (5 bye)
MD 6: March 28, 2009 - 2 v 3, 4 v 5 (1 bye)
MD 7: April 1, 2009 - 1 v 4; 3 v 5 (2 bye)
MD 8: June 6, 2009 - 5 v 1; 4 v 2 (3 bye)
MD 9: June 10, 2009 - 2 v 5; 1 v 3 (4 bye)
MD 10: June 17, 2009 - 3 v 4; 1 v 2 (5 bye)