2014 FIFA World Cup: A look at the AFC preliminary draw

Source: the-afc.com

Round 1

Malaysia - Chinese Taipei
Bangladesh - Pakistan
Cambodia - Laos
Sri Lanka - Philippines
Afghanistan - Palestine
Vietnam - Macau
Nepal - Timor Leste
Mongolia - Myanmar

Round 2

Thailand - Afghanistan/Palestine
Lebanon - Bangladesh/Pakistan
China PR - Cambodia/Laos
Turkmenistan - Indonesia
Kuwait - Sri Lanka/Philippines
Oman - Mongolia/Myanmar
Saudi Arabia - Hong Kong
Iran - Maldives
Syria - Tajikistan
Qatar - Vietnam/Macau
Iraq - Yemen
Singapore - Malaysia/Chinese Taipei
Uzbekistan - Kyrgyzstan
United Arab Emirates - India
Jordan - Nepal/Timor Leste

Based on Elo ratings, the closest matches in the first round will be:

Cambodia - Laos
Sri Lanka - Philippines
Bangladesh - Pakistan

while Macau seem to have no chance against Vietnam.

In the second round, the closest matches will be:

Singapore - Malaysia
Turkmenistan - Indonesia
Thailand - Palestine
Syria - Tajikistan

while Laos, Maldives, Nepal and the Philippines seem to be there for the taking for China PR, Iran, Jordan and Kuwait.

This is how the draw would have looked like using the March 2011 FIFA ranking:


Iran and China PR would have replaced Korea DPR and Bahrain as top 5 seeds - thus getting a bye to the group stage.

Round 1

Cambodia - Macau
Lebanon - Sri Lanka
Turkmenistan - Timor Leste
Pakistan - Afghanistan
Myanmar - Kyrgyzstan
Laos - Palestine
Maldives - Bangladesh
Nepal - Mongolia

Round 2

Yemen - Myanmar/Kyrgyzstan
Vietnam - Lebanon/Sri Lanka
Korea DPR - Turkmenistan/Timor Leste
Indonesia - India
Thailand - Pakistan/Afghanistan
Kuwait - Nepal/Mongolia
Uzbekistan - Hong Kong
Saudi Arabia - Tajikistan
Bahrain - Singapore
Jordan - Laos/Palestine
Oman - Malaysia
United Arab Emirates - Cambodia/Macau
Iraq - Chinese Taipei
Qatar - Philippines
Syria - Maldives/Bangladesh

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