2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round


The first round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 12 to 23 March 2015.
WWW fifa.com/worldcup/index.h...

Format

A total of twelve teams played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.

Seeding

The draw for the first round was held on 10 February 2015, 15:30 MST, at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015. The 12 teams were seeded into two pots:
  • Pot A contained the teams ranked 1–6.
  • Pot B contained the teams ranked 7–12.
Each tie contained a team from Pot A and a team from Pot B, with the team from Pot A hosting the first leg.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round.
Pot APot B

Summary


Matches

India won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
----
Yemen won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
----
Timor-Leste won the first leg 4–1 and the second leg 1–0, thus winning 5–1 on aggregate and advancing to the Second round.
----
Cambodia won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
----
Chinese Taipei won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
----
Bhutan won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.