2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Second round: 40 teams (ranked 1–34, including Qatar the hosts, and the six winners from the first round) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The seven group winners and the five best group runners-up advanced to the third round and also qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Qatar finished as winners in their group, so the fifth-best runners-up advanced to the third round instead.