Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manama: Yemen booked their place in the second round of joint qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a 0-0 draw with Pakistan on Monday, a result which saw them advance 3-1 on aggregate over the two legs.
The second leg match, initially scheduled to be held on March 17 in Lahore, Pakistan was postponed and moved to Manama, Bahrain due to security concerns following bomb blasts and civil unrest in the city.
Yemen, along with five other winners of the first round of qualifiers – India, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Bhutan and Chinese Taipei – secured their passage to the second round where Asia’s 34 highest-ranked teams await.
The 40 nations will be drawn on April 14 into eight groups of five teams and compete according to a double round robin format. The Round 2 qualification matches will be held between June 11, 2015 and March 29, 2016.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup finals.