It is a scheduling quirk unique to Asia. No matter the format, World Cup qualification starts early and ends early. Over the last two decades that means the first qualifying matches kick off less than a year removed from the FIFA World Cup final.
In spite of the expanded format (the next edition of the FIFA World Cup will feature 48 instead of 32 teams) the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is set to continue that tradition for the next cycle.
Earlier this month, the draw for the delayed 2023 Asian Cup was held with Palestine landing in Group C alongside Iran, UAE, and Hong Kong.
Palestine will now hope for a similarly favorable draw and for the first time in their history will be ranked as a Pot 2 team. Narrow misses for 2018 and 2022 qualification landed Palestine in difficult groups, and in both instances, a team they were grouped with in Round 2 (Saudi Arabia) qualified for the World Cup.
The format that will be used is broadly similar to the ones used in the previous two editions. This time however the field will be culled in Round 1 to an even greater extent. Previously, Round 1 culled the participants from 47 to 40 teams. This time around the field of participants will be reduced to 36 teams before Palestine begins its participation in Round 2.
Palestine is currently ranked 15th in Asia and they cannot move into Pot 1 or slide down to Pot 3 with any combination of results against Indonesia and China next month.
Above is the provisional format of the draw although fixtures in June could alter the ranking of some teams. Most notably, Lebanon could slip into Pot 3 with India the main beneficiary. Another major movement could occur between Pot 1 and Pot 2 but it would be conceivably more difficult for Uzbekistan to make up the 15 point gap during the CAFA tournament. Kuwait will also try to avoid the preliminary round of qualifying by stringing together a bevvy of wins in scheduled friendlies next month.
The draw is set to be held on July 27th.
For more analysis, exclusive articles, videos, and a soon to be announced podcast consider subscribing to Football Palestine. All paying subscribers will be entered into a draw to win a framed jersey signed by Palestine’s 2019 AFC Asian Cup squad.
