The 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification was held in late 2005 and the final qualification round was held from February to November 2006 with 25 nations participating. For the first time, the defending champions (Japan), did not earn an automatic berth in the finals and had to compete in the qualification tournament. Twelve teams from top two of each groups joined with four host nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam) qualify for the final tournament. Teams that did not enter 16 national teams did not enter qualifying (The team's FIFA World Ranking was considered for November 2005): [116] [133] [141] [147] [157] [170] [175] [179] [188] [189] [190] [191] [192] [199] [204] East Timor [Not yet ranked] Team excluded [82] were banned from qualifying after having been found guilty of improper conduct in the qualifying round for 2004. Thus, out of 46 national teams, 25 entered the qualifying. Preliminary round In December 2005, Bangladesh and Pakistan played off in a home and away series (with Bangladesh hosting the first leg), to determine which team would progress to the final qualifying round. This was originally scheduled in November but the earthquake in Pakistan forced it to be postponed. After a goalless first leg in Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh on 22 December 2005, Bangladesh won the second leg thanks to the goal from Firoz Mahmud Titu at the 84-minute in People's Sports Complex, Karachi, Pakistan four days later. Bangladesh qualified with the 1–0 on aggregate. However, Pakistan ended up also being qualified into the final qualifying round anyway, after Sri Lanka withdrew. qualified with the 1–0 on aggregate. also qualified after withdrew. Seedings The seeding was based on the 2004 competition, including results during qualifying. The teams in their respective pots also are listed with respect to their performance. Note that Jordan and Uzbekistan were placed higher than South Korea and Iraq. For the tie-breaker here served the fact that Jordan and Uzbekistan were eliminated on penalty shootout, while the other two teams were clearly defeated. Uzbekistan precedes Jordan as it won its group, while Jordan placed second. The same principle is applied to the rest of the teams on the list. The Australian team which had just joined the Asian Football Confederation on 1 January 2006 and had not participated in previous tournaments was given the lowest rank. * = Replace Sri Lanka Tie-breaking criteria If two or more teams