2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round


The third round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 1 September 2016 to 5 September 2017.

Format

A total of 12 teams which advanced from the second round were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group have qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.

Qualified teams

Seeding

The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016, at 16:30 MST, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The seeding were based on the FIFA World Rankings of April 2016. The 12 teams were seeded into six pots:
Each group contained one team from each of the six pots. The fixtures of each group were automatically decided based on the respective pot of each team.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Italicised teams qualified for the fourth round.
Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3
Pot 4Pot 5Pot 6

Groups

Group A

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Group B

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Goalscorers

There were 129 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of goals per match.
;5 goals
;4 goals
;3 goals
;2 goals
;1 goal
;1 own goal