Today, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced the postponement of most remaining matches in the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup to June due to the spread of the coronavirus.
The AFC stated that four matches will be held on their scheduled dates and venues unchanged on March 25 and 30, while the remaining matches will be conducted in a centralized location between May 31 and June 15.
BREAKING: Four #AsianQualifiers matches to continue being played in March are:
March 25: Saudi Arabia vs Yemen
March 25: Tajikistan vs Mongolia
March 30: Nepal vs Australia
March 30: Mongolia vs Japan
The AFC, in its statement, said: "The AFC continues to prioritize the health and safety of players and teams and will cooperate with national associations across the continent to closely monitor the situation in the region."
It is noteworthy that the matches in the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup were originally scheduled to start in March after being postponed from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 40 Asian teams are competing in the qualifiers across eight groups, with the top teams from each group, along with the four best second-placed teams, advancing to the third round of qualifying. It is important to mention that Asia has four slots in the World Cup finals, in addition to Qatar, the Asian champion, which secured its place as the host country, as well as one additional slot through a playoff match with a team from another continent.
