TEHRAN - FIFA has released a special FIFA Ranking specifically for Asia on June 18 which will be used to determine the seeding for the draw.

According to the ranking, Japan and Iran are the first two Asian teams and are in Pot 1.

Australia and Korea Republic are in Pot 2 and Pot 3 consists of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Iraq and China are in Pot 4, while Oman and Syria dropped in Pot 5. Vietnam and Lebanon are also in Pot 6.

The path to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has reached a pivotal stage in Asia.

Twelve teams have qualified for the third round after a nearly two-year long journey in Round 2. Group winners Syria (A), Australia (B), Iran (C), Saudi Arabia (D), Japan (F), United Arab Emirates (G) and Korea Republic (H) will be joined by the five best runners-up: China PR (A), Oman (E), Iraq (C), Vietnam (G) and Lebanon (H).

Qatar finished as winners of Group E, but as hosts have already qualified for the World Cup and will not participate in the next round of qualifying, FIFA.com reported.

The 12 teams will be split into two groups of six in a home-and-away, round robin format. The winners and runners-up in each group (four total) will qualify directly for the World Cup finals, while the third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round, where they will play to determine which team will advance to the intercontinental play-off.

The third round draw will be conducted on 1 July in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The first and second ball drawn from each pot will be placed in Groups A and B respectively. The draw will begin with Pot 6, where the first ball drawn will be placed in position A6. The next ball drawn will be placed in position B6, until the sequence is completed all the way through to Pot 1.