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The Preliminary Qualifying Round of the 2007 Asian Cup was held in late 2005 and the Final Qualifying Round will be held between February and November 2006. For the first time, the defending champions (incidentally ) will not earn an automatic berth in the finals and will have to compete in the qualification tournament. 16 teams (including host nations) will qualify for the final tournament.
TEAMS THAT DID NOT ENTER The following national teams (associated with the AFC ) decided not to enter the Asian Cup 2007 qualifying rounds ( World Ranking from December 20 , 2005 before the draw was made is shown in brackets):
Out of 46 national teams, 17 decided not to enter. (The last 10 ranked national teams are ranked 35-44 regionally. {Link without Title} ). PRELIMINARY QUALIFYING COMPETITION In December 2005, Bangladesh and Pakistan played off in a home and away series (with Bangladesh hosting the first leg), to determine which team would progress to the final qualifying round. This was originally scheduled in November but the earthquake in Pakistan forced it to be postponed. 22 December 2005 26 December 2005 Bangladesh Qualified 1-0 on aggregate. SEEDINGS The seeding was based on performances in, and qualifying for, the 2004 Asian Cup . As Korea Republic were knocked out in the quarter-finals and Saudi Arabia failed to qualify beyond the Group Stage, they were therefore put into the second pot. The Australia team which had just joined the AFC on 1 January, 2006 and have not participated in the previous tournament was given the lowest rank. FINAL QUALIFYING ROUND
Groups Group A Matches: 22 February 2006 1 March 2006 16 August 2006 1 September 2006 6 September 2006 11 October 2006 15 November 2006 Group B Matches: 22 February 2006 1 March 2006 16 August 2006 1 September 2006 6 September 2006 11 October 2006 15 November 2006 Group C Matches: 22 February 2006 1 March 2006 16 August 2006 6 September 2006 11 October 2006 15 November 2006 Group D Matches: 22 February 2006 1 March 2006 16 August 2006 1 September 2006 6 September 2006 11 October 2006 15 November 2006 Group E Matches: 22 February 2006 1 March 2006 16 August 2006 6 September 2006 11 October 2006 15 November 2006 1All Iraq's home matches to be played in Al Ayn , United Arab Emirates . 1All Palestine's home matches played in Amman , Jordan . Group F Matches: 22 February 2006 1 March 2006 16 August 2006 6 September 2006 11 October 2006 15 November 2006 EXTERNAL LINKS |
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