It is the
Asian confederation, who will have a record presence in
2002. The dual hosts Japan and Korea qualify
as of right. They will be joined by two - possibly three -
other teams.
THE QUALIFYING
COMPETITION
Of the 44 Asian Football
Confederation members, 42 made themselves available for the 2002 World Cup. Afghanistan
and Korea DPR did not enroll. 2 or 3 teams plus the hosts Korea Republic and Japan
will play in the finals.
40 teams will compete in the qualifying
competition which is made up of three rounds. In the first round there are 10 groups of
four teams. Each team will play another in its group twice, home and away. The group
winners will advance to the second round where they will be drawn into two groups of five.
Again, the league system is in place
with the two group winners qualifying for the World Cup. The two runners-up will play in a
two-leg, home-and-away, play-off, the third round, with the winner competing in another
play-off with a country from UEFA for a spot in the 2002 finals.
In the UEFA qualifying competition, the
nine group runners-up will be drawn from a pot. Eight teams will play in a UEFA play-off
the remaining team will play the AFC third round play-off winner. The victors will earn a
berth in the finals.
