Harimau Malaysia players attend a training session at Wisma FAM Malaysia on March 18, 2016 to prepare for their match against Saudi Arabia in the last meeting of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign/2019 Asian Cup. — Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Malaysia and East Timor were paired together again today in the playoff draw for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The two sides occupied the last two places in Group A of the previous round of qualifiers with the Malaysians winning 1-0 in Dili after drawing 1-1 at home in the opener.

The tie was one of five in the first playoff stage for the lower ranking sides in Asia with Taiwan taking on Cambodia, Maldives facing Yemen, Tajikistan, the highest ranked at 150th in the world, playing Bangladesh and Laos drawn with India.

The matches will be played on June 2 and 7.

The five winners will advance to the next stage of qualifying for the United Arab Emirates-hosted tournament with the losing sides still able to advance if they come through a second playoff, also drawn today.

That draw also featured Bhutan, formerly the world's lowest-ranked international side, who came last of the 39 sides in the second round of joint World and Asian Cup qualifiers which concluded last month

The continent's elite 12, including Asian champions Australia, perennial World Cup qualifiers Japan and South Korea, have already booked spots in the UAE.

Playoff draw 1

Match 1 Taiwan v Cambodia

Match 2 Maldives v Yemen

Match 3 Tajikistan v Bangladesh

Match 4 Malaysia v East Timor

Match 5 Laos v India

Playoff draw 2. Matches to be played Sept 6 and Oct 11

Loser 2 v Loser 5

Loser 3 v Bhutan

Loser 4 v Loser 1 — Reuters