How was China unable to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup?

Answer 1

China (known officially by FIFA as "China PR" for the People's Republic of China) and its qualifying territory, Hong Kong, in the qualifications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup failed to receive byes to the third round, as they did not rank high enough in the initial seeding (based on performance for the qualification of the 2006 FIFA World Cup). Only teams that were ranked 5th or higher received automatic byes to the third round. China PR was ranked 10th. Hong Kong was ranked 23rd. Therefore, China PR and Hong Kong were required to play in the first round, which seeded to the second round.

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In the first round, China PR was paired with Myanmar as its opponent; Hong Kong, Timor-Leste. China PR defeated Myanmar 11-0 on aggregate and received a bye to advance to the third round. Hong Kong defeated Timor-Leste 11-3 on aggregate and advanced to the second round, but did not receive a bye.

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China PR was exempted from playing in the second round, having received a bye to the third. Hong Kong was paired with Turkmenistan. In the first leg, Hong Kong and Turkmenistan tied at 0-0. The match was played on Hong Kong home ground. In the second leg, Hong Kong lost 0-3 to Turkmenistan, who in turn won 3-0 on aggregate. In this respect, Turkmenistan advanced to the third round and Hong Kong was eliminated from qualifications.

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In the third round, China PR was seeded in Group 1, along with Australia, Qatar, and Iraq. In a group, each team plays every other team twice, once on home ground and once on away ground:

February 6, 2008

• Iraq 1-1 China PR

March 26, 2008

• China PR 0-0 Australia

June 2, 2008

• Qatar 0-0 China PR

June 7, 2008

• China PR 0-1 Qatar

June 14, 2008

• China PR 1-2 Iraq

June 22, 2008

• Australia 0-1 China PR

Team

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

PtsAustralia631273+410Qatar631256−110Iraq621346−27China PR613234−16

Australia was the leader of the group with 10 points. Qatar, also received 10 points, but had a lower Goal Difference (GD), and therefore, received runner-up. Iraq received third placing with 7 points, and China PR received fourth placing with 6 points. As a result, Iraq and China PR were eliminated from the FIFA World Cup qualifications.

For more information, click on "2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC Third Round" under the Related Links.