THE Philippines was drawn in Group A with China in the second round of the 2022 Fifa World Cup Asian qualifiers.

The Azkals will also be joined in the group by Syria, Maldives, and Guam during the draw ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday for the 40 nations that will see action in the qualifiers.

China and Syria are the top-ranked teams in the group being ranked 73rd and 85th in the latest Fifa world rankings. The Philippines is ranked 124th and didn’t pass through the first round of qualifiers for lower-ranked nations.

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The top teams in each of the eight groups, and four best runners-up in all groups will advance into the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and will also automatically qualify jn the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

The Philippines didn’t advance to the third round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers after placing third in Group H behind Uzbekistan and North Korea.

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