Repechage heading to Qatar 2022: how do they qualify in Asia and who is the favorite to face the fifth of Conmebol?

FIFA held the draw for the playoffs that award the last tickets to the Mundial Qatar 2022. For Conmebol, Concacaf, AFC (Asia) and OFC (Oceania); Two keys were assembled to distribute two places for the World Cup. The fifth team of the South American table will have to face the representative of Asia in a single match. Know the qualification system and who is the favorite to get that quota.

If the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers ended today, the Peruvian team (17 pts.) Would finish in fifth place; however, there are still four games left in the South American Qualifiers and there is much to be defined with a very tight table. Chile (16), Uruguay (16), Bolivia (15) and Paraguay (13) remain hopeful of snatching the prized fifth place from Ricardo Gareca’s team.

The fifth place provides the quota to play the playoffs. In the last qualifying rounds, Peru qualified for the World Cup after eliminating New Zealand in a two-legged series. The path has changed towards Qatar: Conmebol’s fifth will now face Asia’s Fifth in a single match.

The Playoffs in Asia have four phases. They are currently in the third, in which 12 teams participate. Qatar, for hosting the World Cup, has a guaranteed ticket, but is also participating in this third phase of the qualifying process.

In two groups of six nations, the first two of each group qualify for the World Cup. If the Qualifiers ended today, Iran and South Korea would qualify for the World Cup directly through Group A, while in Group B they would qualify Saudi Arabia and Japan. The quota for the playoffs will be disputed between the two best third parties.

According to the rules, they will have to face a single party. At the moment, this meeting would be held between Australia and the United Arab Emirates. The winner of that match would face, also in a single match, Conmebol’s fifth for a place in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

According to the table, the favorite would be Australia, since it has eleven points, while the Emirates only have 7 units in their group.

It is worth mentioning that the repechage matches between Conmebol vs. AFC will be played on June 13 and 14, 2022, most likely in Qatar.