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2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification – AFC Third Round
The third round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), AFC matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 2 September 2021 to 29 March 2022. Format The twelve teams that advanced from the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round, second round (the seven group winners excluding Qatar and the five best group runners-up) were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin tournament, round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round, fourth round. World Cup hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar won Group E in the second round (which meant they advanced to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup finals) but were not required to qualify for the World Cup. Qualified teams Draw and seeding The draw for the third round was held on 1 July 2021 at 15:00 Time in Malaysia, MST (UTC+08:00, UTC+8), i ...
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Wu Lei
Wu Lei (; born 19 November 1991) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port and the China national team. Wu is widely regarded as one of the best Chinese players of his generation and one of the best Chinese strikers of all time. He is the all-time top goalscorer for Shanghai Port with more than 200 goals, and the all-time Chinese Super League top goalscorer with 165 goals. Wu also holds the record for being the youngest player to have appeared in a Chinese professional league match, aged 14 years and 287 days. Early life Wu was born in Nanjing and developed a passion for football at an early age. Turned down by Jiangsu Sainty's youth academy for being too small, Wu took a recommendation letter from former Chinese footballer Li Hongbing and went to Shanghai to apply for the Genbao Football Base in 2003. After watching a single training session of Wu, Xu Genbao, the founder and owner of Genbao Football Base, de ...
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Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population of 2,075,600 . Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 8.8 million people as of 2024. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, both in population and economic development. The city serves as the cultural, financial, tourism, political and economic centre of Malaysia. It is also home to the Parliament of Malaysia, Malaysian parliament (consisting of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara) and the Istana Negara, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, Istana Negara, the official residence of the King of Malaysia, monarch (''Yang di-Pertuan Agong''). Kuala Lumpur was first developed around 1857 as a town serving the tin mining, tin mines of the region, and important figures such as Ya ...
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Zabeel Stadium
Zabeel Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Zabeel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 8,439 seats. In 1974, it was completed. It is owned by the Mohsen Zolfaghary-led Zabeel Construction Club. Zabeel Stadium is the official home pitch for the UAE Arabian Gulf League side Al Wasl FC. In 11 May 2001, Irish vocal pop band Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ... held a concert for their Where Dreams Come True Tour supporting their album Coast to Coast. References Football venues in the United Arab Emirates Sports venues in Dubai Al Wasl F.C. Multi-purpose stadiums in the United Arab Emirates {{UnitedArabEmirates-sports-venue-stub ...
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Japan Football Association
The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the Sport governing body, governing body responsible for the administration of Association football, football, futsal, beach soccer and Esports, efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the Japan national football team, national team, as well as club competitions. History The organization was founded in 1921 as the , and became affiliated with FIFA in 1929. In 1945, the name of the organization was changed to the ; its Japanese language, Japanese name was changed to the current title in 1975. The association generally translates its name to "Japan Football Association" in English, though "Japan Soccer Association" is also used. Identity Flag The symbol of the JFA is the Yatagarasu, a mythical three-legged raven that guided Emperor Jimmu to Mount Kumano Shrine, Kumano. Yatagarasu is also the messenger of the supreme Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu. Anthem In 1994, the JFA asked Ryuichi Sakamoto to compose the instrumental song - "Japanes ...
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Ryuji Sato
is a former Japanese football referee. He has officiated matches in the J1 League, AFC Champions League and FIFA World Cup qualifiers and is currently a director of referees in the J.League. Controversy The 2022 AFF Championship Group B match between Malaysia and Vietnam was marred by controversy when Sato made a sudden controversial decision to award a penalty to Vietnam following a clash between Malaysia's Azam Azmi and Vietnam's Đoàn Văn Hậu outside the penalty box which saw Azam being sent off, although he ignored a similar foul made by Văn Hậu towards Azam. A complaint was made by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) towards the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) regarding the "perceived biasedness of Sato's officiating conduct" since a similar incident had also occurred before in another Malaysia-Vietnam encounter during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification held in the United Arab Emirates. Through the letter, the FAM requested Sato to never officiate any matc ...
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Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9.8 million in the city as of 2025, and 16.8 million in the metropolitan area, Tehran is the List of largest cities of Iran, most populous city in Iran and Western Asia, the Largest metropolitan areas of the Middle East, second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East after Cairo, and the 24th most populous metropolitan area in the world. Greater Tehran includes several municipalities, including, Karaj, Eslamshahr, Shahriar, Tehran province, Shahriar, Qods, Iran, Qods, Malard, Golestan, Tehran, Golestan, Pakdasht, Qarchak, Nasimshahr, Parand, Pardis, Andisheh and Fardis. In the classical antiquity, part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages (now Ray, Iran, Ray), a prominent Medes, Median city almost entirely des ...
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Azadi Stadium
The Azadi Stadium (, ), opened as the Aryamehr Stadium (), is an all-seater football stadium in Tehran, Iran. The stadium was designed by Abdol Aziz Mirza Farman-Farmaian Architects and Associates (AFFA) with other parts of the sports complex based on plans by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, an American architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was inaugurated on 17 October 1971 by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran; it is currently self-owned by Esteghlal and Persepolis. It is also the home stadium of the Iran national football team. It has a capacity of 78,116 spectators, as the result of conversion to all-seater stadium. The stadium is part of the larger Azadi Sport Complex. ''Aryamehr'' (meaning "Light of the Aryans") was the title of the Shah; it was renamed after the Iranian Revolution to ''Azadi'' (meaning "freedom" in Persian). It is the largest association football stadium in Western Asia. It was built to host the 1974 Asian Games and has hos ...
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Bahrain Football Association
The Bahrain Football Association () is the governing body of football in Bahrain, and controls the Bahrain national football team, the women's and under-17, under-20 and under-23 national teams and domestic football competitions. It was founded in 1957, and has been a member of FIFA since 1968. It is also a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Office-holders and officials The Association's president is Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. The vice-president is Sheikh Ali Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa. The General Secretary is Ebrahim Saad Al Buainain. The National Men's Team Coach is Dragan Talajić (Croatia's ) and the Women's Team Coach is Khaled Al-Harban. Bahraini Premier League The Bahraini Premier League, established in 1957, is the top professional football league in Bahrain. Featuring ten teams, the league operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Bahraini Second Division. Matches are played from October to April, with clubs vying for the championsh ...
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Nawaf Shukralla
Nawaf Abdullah Ghayyath Shukrallah (; born 13 October 1976) is a Bahraini football referee who has been a full international referee for FIFA. In 2011, FIFA called him on duty at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He has also officiated at other tournaments, including the AFC Champions League, the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup, and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In March 2013, FIFA named Shukrallah to its list of 52 candidate referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.FIFA"Open list of prospective referees & assistant referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup" 7 March 2013. Retrieved on 27 April 2013. Nawaf has officiated in the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...s. References 1976 births Living people Bahraini football referees ...
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Behind Closed Doors (sport)
The term "behind closed doors" is used in several sports to describe matches played where spectators are not allowed in the stadium or venue to watch. A match played in this manner is also referred to as a crowdless game. Because ticket sales generally constitute a substantial proportion of total revenues in most professional sports as well as in certain elite competitions of many amateur sports, it is rare for such games to be off limits to paying members of the general public. When such instances do occur, it is usually for reasons outside the participating teams' control. These may include as a punishment or remedy for a participating team, stadium safety problems, preventing potentially dangerous clashes between rival supporters, wider safety concerns like a riot or other civil disturbances, or public health concerns like the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples Brazil In Brazil, the practice of games without public access is known as "closed gates" (in Portuguese, ''portões fechado ...
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Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities by GDP, sixth largest metropolitan economy in 2022, trailing behind New York metropolitan area, New York, Greater Tokyo Area, Tokyo, Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Paris metropolitan area, Paris, and London metropolitan area, London, and hosts more than half of South Korea's population. Although Seoul's population peaked at over 10 million, it has gradually decreased since 2014, standing at about 9.6 million residents as of 2024. Seoul is the seat of the Government of South Korea, South Korean government. Seoul's history traces back to 18 BC when it was founded by the people of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. During the Joseon dynasty, Seoul was officially designated as the capital, surrounded by the Fortress Wall of Seoul. I ...
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Seoul World Cup Stadium
The Seoul World Cup Stadium (), the Sangam Stadium, is a stadium used mostly for association football matches. The venue is located in 240, World Cup-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and opened on November 10, 2001. It is currently the second largest stadium in South Korea after Seoul Olympic Stadium, and is the 2nd largest rectangular stadium in Asia. It was designed to represent the image of a traditional Korean kite. The stadium has a capacity of 66,704 seats, including 816 seats for VIP, 754 seats for press and 75 private Sky Box rooms, each with a capacity for 12 to 29 persons. Due to table seats installation, capacity was reduced from 66,806 seats to 66,704 seats in February 2014. Since the World Cup it has been managed by the Seoul Metropolitan Facilities Management Corporation (SMFMC). FC Seoul moved to the Seoul World Cup Stadium in 2004. Design The Seoul World Cup Stadium, the 2nd largest football-specific stadium in As ...
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