Qatar 2022, AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifying Begins in Asia

Kuala Lumpur, June 06 (QNA) - The quest to reach FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 has commenced, with Asia being the first continent to start its qualifying campaign. The 12 lowest-ranked Asian sides on the FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking will do battle in six pairings in the first round. The winners of the two-legged contests, which will take place between 6 and 11 June, will advance into September's second round. The first leg matches, which were held today saw national teams of Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Bhutan and Macau take the lead of the round after beating Pakistan 2-0, Laos 1-0, Brunei Darussalam 2-0, Guam 1-0 and Sri Lanka 1-0 respectively. On Friday, Malaysia will take on Timor-Leste in the last match of the first leg round. The qualifiers are a strong competition to win four confirmed cards for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. In the Asian Cup China 2023 qualifiers, the teams are competing to win 23 seats in the finals, joining the host China. (QNA)