article in the SMH this morning saying there will be qualifiers in Newy, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra this time around. can't find it online.
SWEET!
our part kicks off in june.
First round: The lowest ranked teams will play home-and-away over two legs to reduce the total number of teams to 40.
Second round: The 40 teams will be divided into eight groups of five to play home-and-away round robin matches, where the eight group winners and the four best group runners-up will advance to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualify for the AFC Asian Cup finals.
Third round: The 12 teams (an increase from 10 for 2014) will be divided into two groups of six to play home-and-away round-robin matches. Dependent on the number of qualifiers from the AFC, the top two teams of each group will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third placed teams will advance to the fourth round.
Fourth round (play-off for 5th place): Dependent on the number of qualifiers from the AFC, the two third-placed teams in each group from the third round will play against each other home-and-away over two legs to determine which team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
The next best 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round will be divided into six groups of four and compete for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup (the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification will be separate from the third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification).
First round
First leg 12 March 2015
Second leg 17 March 2015
Second round
Matchday 1 11 June 2015
Matchday 2 16 June 2015
Matchday 3 3 September 2015
Matchday 4 8 September 2015
Matchday 5 8 October 2015
Matchday 6 13 October 2015
Matchday 7 12 November 2015
Matchday 8 17 November 2015
Matchday 9 24 March 2016
Matchday 10 29 March 2016
Third round
Matchday 1 1 September 2016
Matchday 2 6 September 2016
Matchday 3 6 October 2016
Matchday 4 11 October 2016
Matchday 5 15 November 2016
Matchday 6 23 March 2017
Matchday 7 28 March 2017
Matchday 8 13 June 2017
Matchday 9 31 August 2017
Matchday 10 5 September 2017
Fourth round
First leg 5 October 2017
Second leg 10 October 2017
Seedings/pots for the first round (matches drawn 10 February 2015)
Pot 1
India (171)
Sri Lanka (172)
Yemen (176)
Cambodia (179)
Chinese Taipei (182)
Timor-Leste (185)
Pot 2
Nepal (186)
Macau (186)
Pakistan (188)
Mongolia (194)
Brunei (198)
Bhutan (209)