The Asian Football Confederation has postponed all 2020 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in March and June to an unconfirmed future date, FIFA announced Monday.
These postponements — which will affect 64 matches and 40 nations — come as the globe continues to grapple with COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus. The virus originated in China and, as of Tuesday, had killed more than 4,000 people as the number of cases worldwide approaches 120,000.
In the Asian Football Confederation, seven national teams have members of their player pool based on American and Canadian clubs.
In the last year, the national teams of Afghanistan, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine and the Philippines have all called at least one player from among Major League Soccer, the USL, the Canadian Premier League or an American college.
The highest-profile players in this mix are Real Salt Lake midfielder Justin Meram and Vancouver Whitecaps winger Ali Adnan, who both represent Iraq, and Inter Miami CF defender AJ DeLaGarza, who represents Guam.
Since 2014, Meram has appeared in 33 matches with Iraq, netting four goals. In the USL ranks, Nazmi Albadawi of North Carolina FC has appeared in five matches with Palestine in the past 15 months.
Guam, which is on the verge of elimination from qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, has the most representatives from North America, with 16, followed by Philippines with three, Pakistan and Iraq with two, and Afghanistan, Chinese Taipei, and Palestine who each have one.