# 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off)
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC–CONMEBOL play-off was a single-match intercontinental play-off between Australia, winner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) play-off path, and Peru, the fifth-placed team of South American CONMEBOL qualifying, played on 13 June 2022 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in [Al Rayyan](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-rayyan), Qatar, for a place at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Australia won 5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 draw through 120 minutes, qualifying for its sixth World Cup finals and giving Asia six representatives at a World Cup for the first time.[1](https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/inter-confederation_playoff_australia_v_peru_1.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | 13 June 2022, 21:00 local time, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (Al Rayyan Stadium), Qatar[2](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/last-two-fifa-world-cup-2022-tm-berths-to-be-decided-at-qatars-ahmad-bin-ali) • [3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-13/socceroos-vs-peru-everything-you-need-to-know-about-playoff/101147294) |
| Format | Single leg at a neutral venue, a change from the two-leg home-and-away play-offs of previous cycles[3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-13/socceroos-vs-peru-everything-you-need-to-know-about-playoff/101147294) |
| Result | 0–0 after 120 minutes; Australia won 5–4 on penalties[1](https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/inter-confederation_playoff_australia_v_peru_1.html) |
| Decisive figure | Substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, brought on in the final minute of extra time, saved one penalty and saw another strike the post[4](https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/socceroos-beat-peru-australia-into-world-cup-2022-graham-arnold-covid19-breach-criticism-reaction-news/news-story/b478cd7da235a230dee8444ff4be507c) |
| Qualification meaning | Australia's sixth World Cup finals; Asia's six representatives were hosts Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Iran, Korea Republic, and Australia[1](https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/inter-confederation_playoff_australia_v_peru_1.html) |
| Australia's path | Beat the United Arab Emirates 2–1 in the AFC play-off on 7 June 2022 at the same stadium[5](https://inside.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/news/australia-edge-uae-to-book-peru-showdown) |
## Format and scheduling
FIFA decided the last two places at Qatar 2022 through two intercontinental play-offs, each a single match on neutral ground. The draw, pairing the AFC, Concacaf, CONMEBOL, and OFC representatives, was held in Zurich on 26 November 2021, after the European play-off draw.[6](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/draw-date-set-for-new-look-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-tm-intercontinental) The matches were originally scheduled for March 2022 but were moved to 13 and 14 June 2022 because of the disruption the COVID-19 pandemic caused to the global qualifying schedule.[6](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/draw-date-set-for-new-look-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-tm-intercontinental) Both matches were staged at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, a 50,000-seat venue redeveloped as one of the eight World Cup stadiums.[2](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/last-two-fifa-world-cup-2022-tm-berths-to-be-decided-at-qatars-ahmad-bin-ali) • [3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-13/socceroos-vs-peru-everything-you-need-to-know-about-playoff/101147294) The AFC–CONMEBOL tie was played on 13 June; the other, between [Costa Rica](https://www.edgepedia.org/costa-rica) and New Zealand, was played the following day.[7](https://as.com/us/futbol/como-les-ha-ido-a-los-equipos-de-concacaf-en-los-repechajes-mundialistas-n/)
Single-leg neutrality was itself new: previous World Cup intercontinental play-offs, such as Australia against Honduras in 2017, had been played over two legs with each team hosting one match.[3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-13/socceroos-vs-peru-everything-you-need-to-know-about-playoff/101147294)
## The teams' paths to Doha
**Australia** entered the play-off after a qualification campaign that stretched 1,008 days and 20 matches, of which only four were played on home soil because of Australian border restrictions during the pandemic.[4](https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/socceroos-beat-peru-australia-into-world-cup-2022-graham-arnold-covid19-breach-criticism-reaction-news/news-story/b478cd7da235a230dee8444ff4be507c) The Socceroos had won 11 consecutive qualifiers, a world record for a World Cup qualifying campaign, but won only once in their final seven group matches, and a 2–0 defeat to Japan in Sydney in March 2022 ended their hopes of automatic qualification.[4](https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/socceroos-beat-peru-australia-into-world-cup-2022-graham-arnold-covid19-breach-criticism-reaction-news/news-story/b478cd7da235a230dee8444ff4be507c) Coach Graham Arnold was fined $25,000 by Football Australia for breaching self-isolation rules while COVID-19 positive before that match, and the federation considered replacing him for the play-offs before confirming his position.[4](https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/socceroos-beat-peru-australia-into-world-cup-2022-graham-arnold-covid19-breach-criticism-reaction-news/news-story/b478cd7da235a230dee8444ff4be507c)
In the AFC play-off on 7 June 2022, Australia beat the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates) 2–1. [Jackson Irvine](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackson-irvine) opened the scoring, Caio Canedo equalized, and Ajdin Hrustic won the match in the 84th minute with a volley deflected past goalkeeper Khalid Eisa off a cleared [Aaron Mooy](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-mooy) corner.[5](https://inside.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/news/australia-edge-uae-to-book-peru-showdown)
Ranked 22nd in the world, 20 places above Australia, Peru had reached the Copa America top four twice since the 2018 World Cup and were heavy favorites.[4](https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/socceroos-beat-peru-australia-into-world-cup-2022-graham-arnold-covid19-breach-criticism-reaction-news/news-story/b478cd7da235a230dee8444ff4be507c) The two teams' only previous meeting had come at Russia 2018, where Peru won the group match 2–0 through goals from Andre Carrillo and [Paolo Guerrero](https://www.edgepedia.org/paolo-guerrero).[5](https://inside.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/news/australia-edge-uae-to-book-peru-showdown)
## The match
Australia dominated much of the first half while Peru struggled to hold possession; over 120 minutes Peru managed a single shot on target against Australia's two, and the match finished goalless.[9](https://www.sbs.com.au/sport/fifa-world-cup-2022/article/five-things-we-learned-from-socceroos-play-off-win-over-peru/edgwcgt2l) • [10](https://www.nine.com.au/sport/football/world-cup-qualifiers-2022-socceroos-battle-peru-in-extra-time-20220614-p5izsf.html) With the penalty shootout looming, Arnold substituted captain and regular goalkeeper Mat Ryan for Andrew Redmayne in the final minute of extra time. Redmayne, a [Sydney FC](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-fc) goalkeeper with only a handful of international appearances, saved one penalty and watched another strike the post, and Australia won the shootout 5–4.[4](https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/socceroos-beat-peru-australia-into-world-cup-2022-graham-arnold-covid19-breach-criticism-reaction-news/news-story/b478cd7da235a230dee8444ff4be507c) Arnold said the change was intended partly as a psychological ploy, to make Peru's takers question why a penalty specialist was being introduced.[9](https://www.sbs.com.au/sport/fifa-world-cup-2022/article/five-things-we-learned-from-socceroos-play-off-win-over-peru/edgwcgt2l)
The crowd heavily favored Peru: an estimated 12,000 Peruvian supporters traveled to Doha against roughly 500 Australian fans.[9](https://www.sbs.com.au/sport/fifa-world-cup-2022/article/five-things-we-learned-from-socceroos-play-off-win-over-peru/edgwcgt2l) The win was Australia's first over South American opposition in more than a decade and its fourth World Cup play-off victory, against six previous defeats in ten such ties.[11](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-14/socceroos-v-peru-analysis-sam-lewis/101149554) • [3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-13/socceroos-vs-peru-everything-you-need-to-know-about-playoff/101147294)
## Historical context
Intercontinental play-offs date to qualifying for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. By the 2022 edition, FIFA's record of these ties by confederation stood at CONMEBOL 70 percent (7 wins, 3 losses), Concacaf 50 percent (3–3), AFC 33 percent (2–4), OFC 30 percent (3–7), and CAF 0 percent (0–1).[12](https://inside.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/news/the-intercontinental-play-offs-in-stats) Australia's win was therefore only the AFC's third in the history of the tie, and it came against the confederation with the best historical record.
The result also marked a high-water point for Asian representation: Australia joined hosts Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Iran, and Korea Republic, giving the AFC six teams at a World Cup for the first time, one more than at Russia 2018.[1](https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/inter-confederation_playoff_australia_v_peru_1.html) • [13](https://assets.the-afc.com/AFC_Congress/2023/Bahrain_February_1/downloads/33rd-AFC-Congress-2023-Activity-Report.pdf) For the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup, the AFC was allocated eight direct spots plus one place in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament, a further increase.[14](https://www.fifa.com/en/articles/afc-qualifying-world-cup-26)
## References
1. [Australia edge Peru on penalties for historical sixth Qatar 2022 spot, the-AFC.com](https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/inter-confederation_playoff_australia_v_peru_1.html)
2. [Last two FIFA World Cup 2022 berths to be decided at Qatar's Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, inside.fifa.com](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/last-two-fifa-world-cup-2022-tm-berths-to-be-decided-at-qatars-ahmad-bin-ali)
3. [Socceroos vs Peru: Where, what time and how to watch Australia's World Cup intercontinental playoff, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-13/socceroos-vs-peru-everything-you-need-to-know-about-playoff/101147294)
4. [From dead man walking to Socceroos saviour: How Arnie gambled everything, and won, Fox Sports](https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/socceroos-beat-peru-australia-into-world-cup-2022-graham-arnold-covid19-breach-criticism-reaction-news/news-story/b478cd7da235a230dee8444ff4be507c)
5. [Australia edge UAE to book Peru showdown, inside.fifa.com](https://inside.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/news/australia-edge-uae-to-book-peru-showdown)
6. [Draw date set for new-look FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 intercontinental play-offs, inside.fifa.com](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/draw-date-set-for-new-look-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-tm-intercontinental)
7. [¿Cómo les ha ido a los equipos de Concacaf en los repechajes mundialistas?, AS](https://as.com/us/futbol/como-les-ha-ido-a-los-equipos-de-concacaf-en-los-repechajes-mundialistas-n/)
8. [Match Preview: Socceroos v Peru, Socceroos](https://www.socceroos.com.au/news/match-preview-socceroos-v-peru)
9. [Five things we learned from Socceroos' play-off win over Peru, SBS Sport](https://www.sbs.com.au/sport/fifa-world-cup-2022/article/five-things-we-learned-from-socceroos-play-off-win-over-peru/edgwcgt2l)
10. [World Cup Qualifiers 2022: Penalty shootout puts Socceroos into World Cup, Nine](https://www.nine.com.au/sport/football/world-cup-qualifiers-2022-socceroos-battle-peru-in-extra-time-20220614-p5izsf.html)
11. [Unshackled from their past, the Socceroos' win against Peru shows they're finally ready to embrace the future, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-14/socceroos-v-peru-analysis-sam-lewis/101149554)
12. [The intercontinental play-offs in stats, inside.fifa.com](https://inside.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/news/the-intercontinental-play-offs-in-stats)
13. [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, 33rd AFC Congress 2023 Activity Report](https://assets.the-afc.com/AFC_Congress/2023/Bahrain_February_1/downloads/33rd-AFC-Congress-2023-Activity-Report.pdf)
14. [How many AFC teams qualify, and how, in FIFA World Cup 26 qualifying?, FIFA](https://www.fifa.com/en/articles/afc-qualifying-world-cup-26)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › FIFA World Cup › FIFA World Cup (men) › World Cup qualification › Inter-confederation play-offs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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