| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 November 2003 - 16 November 2005 |
| Teams | 38 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 134 |
| Goals scored | 400 (2.99 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,873,158 (21,441 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Ali Daei(9 goals) |
←2002 2010 → | |
| AFC Asian Qualifiers |
|---|
Listed below are the dates and results for the2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds forAsia.
44 Asian teams are affiliated withFIFA, butCambodia,Philippines,Bhutan andBrunei decided not to take part, andMyanmar were banned from the competition (for refusing to play a qualifier in Iran during2002 qualifying), so a total of 39 teams took part, competing for 4.5 places in the World Cup.
The qualification was composed of three rounds. Only the 14 last ranked teams according to FIFA took part in thePreliminary 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 thesecond 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 thethird 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 ofCONCACAF in an intercontinental play-off for a place in the World Cup.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Turkmenistan  | 13–0 |  Afghanistan | 11–0 | 2–0 |
Chinese Taipei  | 6–1 |  Macau | 3–0 | 3–1 |
Bangladesh  | 0–4 |  Tajikistan | 0–2 | 0–2 |
Laos  | 0–3 |  Sri Lanka | 0–0 | 0–3 |
Pakistan  | 0–6 |  Kyrgyzstan | 0–2 | 0–4 |
Mongolia  | 0–13 |  Maldives | 0–1 | 0–12 |
Guam andNepal 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.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laos | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 1 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 |
| Macau | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
| Afghanistan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | −13 | 0 |
| Mongolia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | −13 | 0 |
Laos advanced to the 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 thethird round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |  |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 4 | +18 | 15 | Third round | — | 0–1 | 3–1 | 7–0 | |
| 2 | Jordan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 12 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 3 | Qatar | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 9 | 2–3 | 2–0 | — | 5–0 | ||
| 4 | Laos | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 33 | −30 | 0 | 0–7 | 2–3 | 1–6 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 | 16 | Third round | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 6–1 | |
| 2 | Iraq | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 11 | 1–2 | — | 4–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 3 | Palestine | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0–3 | 1–1 | — | 8–0 | ||
| 4 | Chinese Taipei | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 26 | −23 | 0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | +15 | 18 | Third round | — | 1–0 | 7–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Oman | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 3 | +11 | 10 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 3 | India | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 18 | −16 | 4 | 0–4 | 1–5 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Singapore | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 15 | Third round | — | 1–0 | 4–0 | 6–1 | |
| 2 | China | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 1 | +13 | 15 | 1–0 | — | 7–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 3 | Hong Kong | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 15 | −10 | 6 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Malaysia | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 18 | −16 | 0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Korea | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 11 | Third round | — | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Thailand | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 7 | 1–4 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | Yemen | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 5 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–3 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahrain | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 14 | Third round | — | 2–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 | |
| 2 | Syria | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 2–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 3 | Tajikistan | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 7 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Kyrgyzstan | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 14 | Third round | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Lebanon | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 11 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Vietnam | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 4 | Maldives | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 4 | 0–0 | 2–5 | 3–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  | |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | +13 | 18 | Third round | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Turkmenistan | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 7 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Indonesia | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 7 | 1–3 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — |
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 the2006 FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, the third-placed teams entered aplay-off to determine who would contest theAFC–CONCACAF play-off.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 14 | 2006 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | South Korea | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 10 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Uzbekistan | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 5 | Fourth round | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–2 | |
| 4 | Kuwait | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 4 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 15 | 2006 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | Iran | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 13 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Bahrain | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 4 | Fourth round | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–3 | |
| 4 | North Korea | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | — |
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. WithUzbekistan 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.[2]
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uzbekistan | 1–1 (a) | Bahrain | 1–1 | 0–0 |
Bahrain advanced to theAFC–CONCACAF play-off on theaway goals rule.
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 the2006 FIFA World Cup finals.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Trinidad and Tobago  | 2–1 | Bahrain | 1–1 | 1–0 |
The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previousappearances inFIFA World Cup1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Third round group 1 winners | 8 June 2005 | 3 (1994,1998,2002) |
| Japan | Third round group 2 winners | 8 June 2005 | 2 (1998,2002) |
| South Korea | Third round group 1 runners-up | 8 June 2005 | 6 (1954,1986,1990,1994,1998,2002) |
| Iran | Third round group 2 runners-up | 8 June 2005 | 2 (1978,1998) |
There were 400 goals scored in 134 matches, for an average of 2.99 goals per match.
9 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
Below are full goalscorer lists for each round: