| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 September 2016 – 5 September 2017 | 
| Teams | 12 (from 1 confederation) | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 60 | 
| Goals scored | 129 (2.15 per match) | 
| Attendance | 1,950,068 (32,501 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) |  Tomi Juric  Mohannad Abdul-Raheem  Nawaf Al-Abed  Ahmed Khalil (5 goals each) | 
| ← 2014   2022 → | |
The third round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 1 September 2016 to 5 September 2017. [1]
A total of twelve teams which advanced from the second round (the eight group winners and the four best group runners-up) were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.
| Group (Second round) | Winners | Runners-up (Best 4) | 
|---|---|---|
| A |  Saudi Arabia |  United Arab Emirates | 
| B |  Australia | — | 
| C |  Qatar |  China | 
| D |  Iran | — | 
| E |  Japan |  Syria | 
| F |  Thailand |  Iraq | 
| G |  South Korea | — | 
| H |  Uzbekistan | — | 
The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016, at 16:30 MST (UTC+8), at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [2] [3]
The seeding were based on the FIFA World Rankings of April 2016 (shown in parentheses below). [4] The twelve teams were seeded into six pots: [5]
Each group contained one team from each of the six pots. The fixtures of each group were automatically decided based on the respective pot of each team.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Italicised teams qualified for the fourth round.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | 
 | |
| Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 | 
| 
 | 
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers | 
|---|
| In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7): [6] 
 | 
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Iran | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 22 | 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 |  South Korea | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 15 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | ||
| 3 |  Syria | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 13 | Fourth round | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | |
| 4 |  Uzbekistan | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 13 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 5 |  China | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 12 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | ||
| 6 |  Qatar | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 7 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 
| South Korea  | 3–2 |  China | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Uzbekistan  | 1–0 |  Syria | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Iran  | 2–0 |  Qatar | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| China  | 0–0 |  Iran | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Syria  | 0–0 |  South Korea | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Qatar  | 0–1 |  Uzbekistan | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| South Korea  | 3–2 |  Qatar | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| China  | 0–1 |  Syria | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Uzbekistan  | 0–1 |  Iran | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Iran  | 1–0 |  South Korea | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| South Korea  | 2–1 |  Uzbekistan | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Syria  | 1–0 |  Uzbekistan | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Qatar  | 0–1 |  Iran | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Iran  | 1–0 |  China | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Uzbekistan  | 1–0 |  Qatar | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Syria  | 2–2 |  China | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Qatar  | 3–2 |  South Korea | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Syria  | 3–1 |  Qatar | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Qatar  | 1–2 |  China | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Iran  | 2–2 |  Syria | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Japan | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 20 | 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | |
| 2 |  Saudi Arabia | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 19 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 |  Australia | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 19 | Fourth round | 1–1 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | |
| 4 |  United Arab Emirates | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 13 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 5 |  Iraq | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 11 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 6 |  Thailand | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 24 | −18 | 2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 
| United Arab Emirates  | 0–1 |  Australia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Japan  | 2–1 |  Iraq | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Iraq  | 4–0 |  Thailand | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Saudi Arabia  | 3–0 |  United Arab Emirates | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
| Iraq  | 1–1 |  Australia | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Thailand  | 0–3 |  Saudi Arabia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Australia  | 3–2 |  Saudi Arabia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Thailand  | 1–1 |  United Arab Emirates | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Iraq  | 1–1 |  Japan | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Thailand  | 1–2 |  Iraq | 
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
 | 
| Iraq  | 1–0 |  United Arab Emirates | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) | 
There were 129 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.15 goals per match.
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
 Tim Cahill
  Tim Cahill  Jackson Irvine
  Jackson Irvine  Massimo Luongo
  Massimo Luongo  Tom Rogic
  Tom Rogic  Trent Sainsbury
  Trent Sainsbury  Hao Junmin
  Hao Junmin  Wu Lei
  Wu Lei  Wu Xi
  Wu Xi  Xiao Zhi
  Xiao Zhi  Yu Dabao
  Yu Dabao  Yu Hai
  Yu Hai  Reza Ghoochannejhad
  Reza Ghoochannejhad  Jalal Hosseini
  Jalal Hosseini  Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  Alireza Jahanbakhsh  Ayman Hussein
  Ayman Hussein  Mahdi Kamil
  Mahdi Kamil  Justin Meram
  Justin Meram  Ahmed Yasin
  Ahmed Yasin  Keisuke Honda
  Keisuke Honda  Yosuke Ideguchi
  Yosuke Ideguchi  Shinji Kagawa
  Shinji Kagawa  Hiroshi Kiyotake
  Hiroshi Kiyotake  Yasuyuki Konno
  Yasuyuki Konno  Shinji Okazaki
  Shinji Okazaki  Yuya Osako
  Yuya Osako  Hotaru Yamaguchi
  Hotaru Yamaguchi  Maya Yoshida
  Maya Yoshida  Ali Assadalla
  Ali Assadalla  Sebastián Soria
  Sebastián Soria  Salem Al-Dawsari
  Salem Al-Dawsari  Taisir Al-Jassim
  Taisir Al-Jassim  Salman Al-Moasher
  Salman Al-Moasher  Nasser Al-Shamrani
  Nasser Al-Shamrani  Omar Hawsawi
  Omar Hawsawi  Hong Jeong-ho
  Hong Jeong-ho  Hwang Hee-chan
  Hwang Hee-chan  Ji Dong-won
  Ji Dong-won  Lee Chung-yong
  Lee Chung-yong  Nam Tae-hee
  Nam Tae-hee  Son Heung-min
  Son Heung-min  Ahmad Al Salih
  Ahmad Al Salih  Omar Al Somah
  Omar Al Somah  Tamer Haj Mohamad
  Tamer Haj Mohamad  Pokklaw Anan
  Pokklaw Anan  Tana Chanabut
  Tana Chanabut  Mongkol Tossakrai
  Mongkol Tossakrai  Ismail Matar
  Ismail Matar  Odil Ahmedov
  Odil Ahmedov  Alexander Geynrikh
  Alexander Geynrikh  Egor Krimets
  Egor Krimets  Otabek Shukurov
  Otabek Shukurov 1 own goal
 Zheng Zhi (against South Korea)
  Zheng Zhi (against South Korea) Ahmad Ibrahim (against Thailand)
  Ahmad Ibrahim (against Thailand) Tanaboon Kesarat (against Saudi Arabia)
  Tanaboon Kesarat (against Saudi Arabia)