The draw of the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers (AFC region) was held on July 1 2021 at Kaula Lampur. For the third round of the qualifiers, 12 teams from the second round have qualified. Seven group toppers from eight groups and five best runners-up teams qualified from the second round. Qatar will not play the third round because they are the host country.
As per FIFA rankings released for Asian teams on June 18, Japan and Iran were spotted at Pot 1 of the draw, with Australia and the Republic of Korea at the Pot 2, Pot 3 includes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Iraq and China are in the Pot 4. Pot 5 contains Oman and Syria along with Vietnam and Lebanon in Pot 6. The matches will start on September 2 and 7, October 7 and 12, November 11 and 16, January 27 and February 1 as well as March 24 and 29, 2022.
The winners of the group and runner-up will directly qualify for the 2022 World Cup Qatar, while the third-place teams will be qualified for the Asian playoff to determine the side that will advance to the Intercontinental playoff. Group A contains Iran, South Korea, UAE, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon. On the other side, Group B includes Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Oman, Vietnam.