2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for Asia.

44 Asian teams are affiliated with FIFA, but Cambodia, Philippines, Bhutan and Brunei decided not to take part, and Myanmar were banned from the competition (for refusing to play a qualifier in Iran during 2002 qualifying), so a total of 39 teams took part, competing for 4.5 places in the World Cup.

Format

The qualification was composed of three rounds. Only the 14 last ranked teams according to FIFA took part in the Preliminary Round, where they were paired 2-by-2 and played home-and-away knock-out matches. The 7 winners joined the other 25 teams in the second round, where those 32 teams were divided in 8 groups of four teams each. The teams in each group would play against each other home-and-away, and the team with most points in each group would advance to the Third Round.

In the third round, the 8 remaining teams were divided in two groups of 4 teams each, that would again play against each other in a home-and-away basis. The two teams with most points in each group would qualify to the World Cup. The two third placed teams would play-off against each other home-and-away. Winner of this play-off would play against the fourth placed team in the final round of CONCACAF in an intercontinental play-off for a place in the World Cup.

First round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Turkmenistan	13–0	{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Afghanistan	flag alias = Flag of the Taliban.svg	flag alias-1880 = Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1901).svg	flag alias-1901 = Flag of Afghanistan (1901–1919).svg	flag alias-1919 = Flag of Afghanistan (1919–1921).svg	flag alias-1926 = Flag of Afghanistan (1926–1928).svg	flag alias-1928a = Flag of Afghanistan (1928).svg	flag alias-1928 = Flag of Afghanistan (1928–1929).svg	flag alias-1929a = Flag of Afghanistan (1929).svg	flag alias-1929 = Flag of Afghanistan (1929–1931).svg	flag alias-1930 = Flag of Afghanistan (1931–1973).svg	flag alias-1973 = Flag of Afghanistan (1973–1974).svg	flag alias-1974 = Flag of Afghanistan (1974–1978).svg	flag alias-1978a = Flag of Afghanistan (1978).svg	flag alias-1978 = Flag of Afghanistan (1978–1980).svg	flag alias-1980 = Flag of Afghanistan (1980–1987).svg	flag alias-1987 = Flag of Afghanistan (1987–1992).svg	flag alias-1992a = Flag of Afghanistan (1992).svg	flag alias-1992 = Flag of Afghanistan (1992–2001).svg	flag alias-1996 = Flag of Taliban (original).svg	flag alias-1997 = Flag of the Taliban.svg	flag alias-2001 = Flag of Afghanistan (2001–2002).svg	flag alias-2002 = Flag of Afghanistan (2002–2004).svg	flag alias-2004 = Flag of Afghanistan (2004–2013).svg	flag alias-2013 = Flag of Afghanistan (2013–2021).svg	flag alias-Taliban = Flag of the Taliban.svg	link alias-military = Afghan Armed Forces	Islamic National Army	flag alias-army = Military Flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.svg	flag alias-air force = Flag of the Taliban (Shahada v2).svg	link alias-air force = Afghan Air Force	flag alias-Islamic Emirate = Flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.svg	flag alias-football = Flag of Afghanistan (2013–2021).svg	flag alias-cricket = Flag of Afghanistan (2013–2021).svg	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	altvar = football	variant = 2002 }}	11–0	2–0
Chinese Taipei	6–1	{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Macau	flag alias = Flag of Macau.svg	flag alias-colonial = Flag of Portugal.svg	flag alias-municipal = Flag of Municipal Council of Macau.svg	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = }}	3–0	3–1
Bangladesh	0–4	{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Tajikistan	flag alias = Flag of Tajikistan.svg	flag alias-1991 = Flag of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (1953–1991); Flag of Tajikistan (1991–1992).svg	flag alias-1992 = Flag of Tajikistan (1991–1992, variant).svg	link alias-army = Tajik Ground Forces	link alias-air force = Tajik Air Force	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = }}	0–2	0–2
Laos	0–3	{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Sri Lanka	flag alias = Flag of Sri Lanka.svg	flag alias-army=Flag of the Sri Lankan Army.png	link alias-army=Sri Lanka Army	flag alias-air force=Air Force Ensign of Sri Lanka.svg	link alias-air force=Sri Lanka Air Force	flag alias-naval = Naval Ensign of Sri Lanka.svg	flag alias-navy = Naval Ensign of Sri Lanka.svg	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = }}	0–0	0–3
Pakistan	0–6	{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Kyrgyzstan	flag alias = Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg	flag alias-1991 = Flag of Kyrgyzstan (1991-1992).svg	flag alias-1992 = Flag of Kyrgyzstan (1992-2023).svg	link alias-air force = Kyrgyz Air Force	flag alias-army = Military Ensign of Kyrgyz Armed Forces (Kyrgyz).svg	link alias-army = Kyrgyz Army	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	altvar = football	variant = 1992 }}	0–2	0–4
Mongolia	0–13	{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Maldives	flag alias = Flag of Maldives.svg	flag alias-1117 = Flag of the Maldives (pre-1903, alternative flag shape).svg	flag alias-1796 = Earliest Flag of the Maldives.svg	flag alias-1903 = Flag of the Maldives until 1903.svg	flag alias-1926 = Old National Flag of the Maldives.svg	flag alias-1953 = Flag of the Maldives 1953.svg	flag alias-air force = Flag of the MNDF Air Corps.svg	Maldives Air Corps	flag alias-marines = Flag of the MNDF Marine Corps.svg	Maldives Marine Corps	flag alias-military = Flag of the Maldives National Defence Force.svg	link alias-military = Maldives National Defence Force	link alias-coast guard = Maldivian Coast Guard	flag alias-coast guard = Flag of the MNDF Coast Guard.svg	variant =	size =	name =	altlink = national football team }}	0–1	0–12

Guam and Nepal were scheduled to play against each other on November 21 and 25; Nepal withdrew, so Guam progressed to the 2nd round, but Guam later withdrew.

FIFA then decided to elect a "lucky loser", to select the best of the teams that lost, to advance to the second round.

The losers were compared, using the following criteria to break ties: a) number of points; b) goal difference; c) goals scored.

Laos advanced to the second round.

Second round

In the second round, the 25 teams who received byes, as well as the 7 play-off round winners, were split into eight groups of four teams each. Teams played home-and-away games with the other teams in their group, and the top-ranked team qualified for the third round.

Group 1

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Group 2

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Group 3

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Group 4

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Group 5

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Group 6

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Group 7

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Group 8

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Third round

In the third round, the 8 teams who won their groups in the earlier round were split into two groups of four teams each. Teams played home-and-away games with the other teams in their group, and the top two teams qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, the third-placed teams entered a play-off to determine who would contest the AFC–CONCACAF play-off.

Group 1

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round

Group 2

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round

Fourth round

Teams finishing 3rd in the third round groups played each other to determine a possible 5th qualifier from Asia. The first leg was originally played on 3 September 2005 but the match was ordered to be replayed by FIFA after a refereeing mistake. With Uzbekistan leading the tie 1–0, a penalty was awarded to them but the referee disallowed the resulting goal and offered an indirect freekick to Bahrain for encroachment. Uzbekistan had formally requested for the match to be recorded as an automatic 3–0 victory.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Uzbekistan	1–1 (a)	{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Bahrain	flag alias = Flag of Bahrain.svg	flag alias-old = Flag of Bahrain (before 1820).svg	flag alias-1820 = Flag of Bahrain (1820-1932).svg	flag alias-1932 = Flag of Bahrain (1932 to 1972).svg	flag alias-1972 = Flag of Bahrain (1972-2002).svg	link alias-naval = Royal Bahraini Naval Force	flag alias-military = Flag of the Bahrain Defence Force.svg	link alias-military = Bahrain Defence Force	flag alias-army = Flag of the Royal Bahraini Army.svg	link alias-army = Royal Bahraini Army	flag alias-air force = Flag of the Royal Bahraini Air Force.svg	link alias-air force = Royal Bahraini Air Force	flag alias-navy = Flag of the Royal Bahrain Naval Force.svg	link alias-navy = Royal Bahraini Naval Force	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = }}	1–1	0–0

Bahrain advanced to the AFC–CONCACAF play-off on the away goals rule.

Inter-confederation play-offs

The Fourth Round winner then played the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF qualifying group, Trinidad and Tobago, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. {{#lst:2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)|playoff1}}

Qualified teams

The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Saudi Arabia	flag alias = Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg	flag alias-1744 = Flag of the First Saudi State.svg	flag alias-1822 = Flag of the First Saudi State.svg	flag alias-1902 = Flag of the Second Saudi State.svg	flag alias-1921 = Flag of Nejd (1921).svg	flag alias-1926 = Flag of Nejd (1926).svg	flag alias-1932 = Flag of Saudi Arabia (1932–1934).svg	flag alias-1934 = Flag of Saudi Arabia (1934–1938).svg	flag alias-1938 = Flag of Saudi Arabia (1938–1973).svg	flag alias-naval = Naval Ensign of Saudi Arabia.svg	link alias-naval = Royal Saudi Navy	flag alias-navy = Naval base flag of the Royal Saudi Navy.svg	link alias-navy = Royal Saudi Navy	flag alias-army = Flag of the Royal Saudi Land Forces.svg	link alias-army = Saudi Arabian Army	flag alias-military = Saudi Armed Forces Flag.svg	link alias-military = Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia	flag alias-air force = Ensign of the Royal Saudi Air Force.svg	link alias-air force = Royal Saudi Air Force	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = }} || || Template:Dts || 3 (1994, 1998, 2002)
{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Japan	flag alias = Flag of Japan.svg	flag alias-1870 = Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg	link alias-1870 = Empire of Japan	flag alias-1945 = Flag of Allied Occupied Japan.svg	border-1945 =	flag alias-1947 = Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg	flag alias-ryukyu = Civil ensign of the Ryukyu Islands (1952–1967).svg	border-ryukyu =	flag alias-naval = Naval Ensign of Japan.svg	flag alias-coast guard = Ensign of the Japanese Coast Guard.svg	link alias-coast guard = Japan Coast Guard	link alias-naval = Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force	flag alias-army = Flag of JSDF.svg	link alias-army = Japan Ground Self-Defense Force	flag alias-air force = Flag of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.svg	link alias-air force = Japan Air Self-Defense Force	flag alias-air force-1955 = Flag of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (1955-1957).png	link alias-air force-1955 = Japan Air Self-Defense Force	flag alias-air force-1957 = Flag of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (1957-1972).png	link alias-air force-1957 = Japan Air Self-Defense Force	flag alias-air force-1972 = Flag of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (1972-2001).png	link alias-air force-1972 = Japan Air Self-Defense Force	flag alias-military=Flag of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.svg	link alias-military=Japan Self-Defense Forces	flag alias-marines=Flag of JSDF.svg	link alias-marines=Japanese Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade	flag alias-navy = Naval Ensign of Japan.svg	link alias-navy = Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force	empty = Junior Japan	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = }} || || Template:Dts || 2 (1998, 2002)
{{ Template:Yesno	alias = South Korea	flag alias = Flag of South Korea.svg	flag alias-1945 = Flag of South Korea (1945–1948).svg	flag alias-1948 = Flag of South Korea (1948–1949).svg	flag alias-1949 = Flag of South Korea (1949–1984).svg	flag alias-1984 = Flag of South Korea (1984–1997).svg	flag alias-1997 = Flag of South Korea (1997–2011).svg	flag alias-army = Flag of the Republic of Korea Army.svg	flag alias-air force = Flag of the Republic of Korea Air Force.svg	link alias-army = Republic of Korea Army	flag alias-naval = Flag of the Republic of Korea Navy.svg	link alias-naval = Republic of Korea Navy	link alias-air force = Republic of Korea Air Force	flag alias-marines = Flag of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps.svg	link alias-marines = Republic of Korea Marine Corps	link alias-navy = Republic of Korea Navy	flag alias-navy = Flag of the Republic of Korea Navy.svg	flag alias-military = Flag of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.svg	link alias-military = Republic of Korea Armed Forces	flag alias-coast guard = Flag of the Korean Coast Guard.svg	link alias-coast guard = Korea Coast Guard	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	altvar = football	variant = 1997 }} || || Template:Dts || 6 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)
{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Iran	flag alias = Flag of Iran.svg	flag alias-official = Flag of Iran (official).svg	flag alias-1502 = Flag of Persia (1502-1524).svg	flag alias-1576 = Safavid Flag.svg	flag alias-1665 = Flag of Persia (1665).svg	flag alias-1736 = Nadir Shah Flag.svg	flag alias-1760 = Zand Dynasty flag.svg	border-1760 =	flag alias-1796 = Qajar Naval Ensign.svg	flag alias-1849 = Amir Kabir Flag.svg	flag alias-1907 = Flag of Persia (1907).svg	flag alias-1910 = Flag of Persia (1910-1925).svg	flag alias-1925 = State Flag of Iran (1925).svg	flag alias-1964 = State Flag of Iran (1964).svg	flag alias-air force = Flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force.svg	link alias-air force = Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force	flag alias-army = Flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces.svg	link alias-army = Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces	flag alias-navy = Flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy.svg	link alias-navy = Islamic Republic of Iran Navy	link alias-naval = Islamic Republic of Iran Navy	flag alias-military = Flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army.svg	link alias-military = Islamic Republic of Iran Army	flag alias-coast guard = Flag of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution.svg	link alias-coast guard = Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant =	related1 = Persia	related2 = Pahlavi Iran	related3 = Qajar Iran }} || || Template:Dts || 2 (1978, 1998)

¹ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Top goalscorers

Below are full goalscorer lists for each round:

• First round
• Second round
• Third round
• Fourth round

External links

• 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) at RSSSF.com