Mongolia advance to second phase of World Cup qualifying

AKIPRESS.COM - Mongolia booked their place in the second round of Asia's qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup finals on Tuesday, with a second-half penalty from Norjmoogiin Tsedenbal sealing their progress despite a 2-1 loss against Brunei, Reuters said. Tsedenbal's spot-kick two minutes into the second half meant Mongolia held on to claim a 3-2 aggregate win over Brunei, who had initially cancelled out the visitors' first-leg advantage thanks to a first-half brace from Razimie Ramlli.
The Mongolians are joined in the draw for the next phase of qualifying by Bangladesh, Guam, Malaysia and Cambodia after they came through their respective second-leg encounters on Tuesday.
The second phase of Asia's four qualifying rounds for the 2022 World Cup will commence in September, when 40 nations will compete for one of 12 berths in the third phase of the competition.
Asia has four guaranteed places at the finals while Qatar, who are the current Asian champions, qualify automatically as hosts. Another spot at the finals is available via an inter-confederation playoff.