Myanmar team advance to third round Asian Qualifiers as new format set

With the new format of the 2023 Asian Cup Third Round Qualifiers, the Myanmar team will advance to the third round of the Asian Qualifiers without having to play in the playoffs, according to the Asian Football Federation source.
Myanmar will fight for the playoff matches with the previous or old format to qualify for the third round Asian Qualifiers. Team Myanmar stood at the bottom of Group F after the second round matches.
However, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced a new format for the AFC Asian Cup on 16 June, with 22 teams qualifying for the third round and only two places to play in the playoffs.
The new format allows all eight fourth-place teams to advance to the third round, with the top three bottom teams entering the next stage, and thus only four teams remain to play in the playoffs. As a result, the Myanmar team, which is at the bottom of Group F after the second round matches, is in the top three teams in the fifth or bottom place and will compete directly in the third round qualifiers of the Asian Cup.
The top three teams among the bottom-placed sitters are Myanmar, Yemen and Bangladesh, and the teams will qualify for the third round of the Asian Cup directly.
The 5th to 7th place teams in the bottom positions are Indonesia, Cambodia, China Taipei and Guam, and they will fight for the playoffs again, with the two winning teams advancing to the third round.
Playoffs will be played on 7 September and 12 October. Twenty-four teams will play the third round of the Asian Cup, and the fixtures and venues will be announced soon. —Ko Nyi Lay/ GNLM