The AFC fourth round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was decided by a random draw conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 June 2008. The round commenced on 6 September 2008, and finished on 17 June 2009.
The top two countries in each group at the end of the stage qualified directly to the World Cup Finals in South Africa, with the two third-placed countries advancing to the AFC play-off.
The 10 teams (2 teams from each group in the third round) were divided into four pots for the draw, three containing two teams and one containing four. The seeding for the fourth round was based on that used in the third round draw, but Saudi Arabia and Japan (seeded equal 4th in that draw) were separated by a random selection held at the start of the fourth round draw. The pots were as follows:
| width=25% | Pot 1 | width=25% | Pot 2 | width=25% | Pot 3 | width=25% | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The 10 teams were split into two groups of five teams each – each containing one team from each of Pots 1, 2 and 3, as well as 2 teams from Pot 4.
The top two teams in each group qualified for the World Cup Finals, with the two third-placed sides advancing to a playoff. All teams played home and away against each of the other four teams in the group.
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Several Iranian players started their away match against South Korea wearing green armbands or wristbands, a symbol of protest at the outcome of the Iranian presidential election.[1] Most removed them at half-time. The newspaper Iran reported that Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Hosein Kaebi, and Vahid Hashemian had received life bans from the Iranian FA for the gesture.[2] However, the Iranian FA denied this claim in a response to FIFA's inquiry saying that "the comments in foreign media are nothing but lies and a mischievous act."[3] The Iran national team head coach Afshin Ghotbi also confirmed that it was a rumour and Iranian FA "has not taken any official stand on this issue."[4]