document_title: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

question_text: how many teams from asia in world cup 2018

text: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

text: Format[edit]

text: The qualification structure was as follows:[2][3]

text:
First round: 12 teams (ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
Second round: 40 teams (ranked 1–34 and six first round winners) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up advanced to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals.
Third round: The 12 teams (an increase from 10 for 2014) which had advanced from the second round were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.
Fourth round: The two third-placed teams of each group from the third round played home-and-away over two legs. The winners advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

text: Entrants[edit]

text: The 46 FIFA-affiliated nations from the AFC entered qualification.[4] In order to determine which nations would compete in the first round and which nations would receive a bye through to the second round, the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015 were used (shown in parentheses), as those were the latest published rankings prior to the first round draw. The FIFA Rankings of January 2015 were also used for seeding of the first round draw; however, for seeding in the second round and third round draws, the most recent FIFA Rankings prior to those draws were used.

text:
From the January 2015 FIFA World Rankings[5]

Bye to the second round(Ranked 1st to 34th)

Competing in first round(Ranked 35th to 46th)

 Iran (51)
 Japan (54)
 South Korea (69)
 Uzbekistan (71)
 United Arab Emirates (80)
 Qatar (92)
 Oman (93)
 Jordan (93)
 China PR (96)
 Australia (100)
 Saudi Arabia (102)
 Bahrain (110)
 Iraq (114)
 Palestine (115)
 Lebanon (122)
 Kuwait (125)
 Philippines (129)
 Maldives (131)
 Vietnam (133)
 Tajikistan (136)
 Myanmar (141)
 Afghanistan (142)
 Thailand (144)
 Turkmenistan (147)
 North Korea (150)
 Syria (151)
 Kyrgyzstan (152)
 Malaysia (154)
 Hong Kong (156)
 Singapore (157)
 Indonesia (159)
 Laos (160)
 Guam (161)
 Bangladesh (165)

 India (171) Sri Lanka (172) Yemen (176) Cambodia (179) Chinese Taipei (182) Timor-Leste (185)   Nepal (186) Macau (186) Pakistan (188) Mongolia (194) Brunei (198) Bhutan (209)

text: Schedule[edit]

text: The schedule of the competition was as follows.[6][7][8]

text:
Round

Matchday

Date

First round

First leg

12 March 2015

Second leg

17 March 2015

Second round

Matchday 1

11 June 2015

Matchday 2

16 June 2015

Matchday 3

3 September 2015

Matchday 4

8 September 2015

Matchday 5

8 October 2015

Matchday 6

13 October 2015

Matchday 7

12 November 2015

Matchday 8

17 November 2015

Matchday 9

24 March 2016

Matchday 10

29 March 2016

Round

Matchday

Date

Third round

Matchday 1

1 September 2016

Matchday 2

6 September 2016

Matchday 3

6 October 2016

Matchday 4

11 October 2016

Matchday 5

15 November 2016

Matchday 6

23 March 2017

Matchday 7

28 March 2017

Matchday 8

13 June 2017

Matchday 9

31 August 2017

Matchday 10

5 September 2017

Fourth round

First leg

5 October 2017

Second leg

10 October 2017

text: The inter-confederation play-offs were scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.[9]

text: First round[edit]

text: The draw for the first round was held on 10 February 2015, 15:30 MST (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[10]

text:
Team 1

Agg.

Team 2

1st leg

2nd leg

India

2–0

   Nepal

2–0

0–0

Yemen

3–1

 Pakistan

3–1

0–0

Timor-Leste

0–6[N 1]

 Mongolia

0–3[N 1]

0–3[N 1]

Cambodia

4–1

 Macau

3–0

1–1

Chinese Taipei

2–1

 Brunei

0–1

2–0

Sri Lanka

1–3

 Bhutan

0–1

1–2

text: ^ Jump up to: a b c Timor-Leste won the first leg 4–1 and the second leg 1–0, thus winning 5–1 on aggregate and advancing to the Second Round. On 12 December 2017 FIFA awarded both matches 3–0 to Mongolia due to Timor-Leste fielding numerous ineligible players. However, this was long after the Second Round had been played so Timor-Leste advanced and Mongolia were not reinstated.

tag: ol

text: Second round[edit]

text: The draw for the second round was held on 14 April 2015, at 17:00 MST (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[11][12]

text: Summary[edit]

text:
Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Saudi ArabiaUnited Arab Emirates

Australia

QatarChina PR

Iran

JapanSyria

ThailandIraq

South Korea

Uzbekistan

Palestine

JordanKyrgyzstan

Hong Kong

OmanTurkmenistanGuam

SingaporeAfghanistan

Vietnam

LebanonKuwaitMyanmar

North KoreaPhilippinesBahrain

MalaysiaTimor-Leste

TajikistanBangladesh

MaldivesBhutan

India

Cambodia

Chinese Taipei

Laos

Yemen

Indonesia

text: Groups[edit]

text:
show2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers

In league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[13]
Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
Overall goal difference
Overall goals scored
Points in matches between tied teams
Goal difference in matches between tied teams
Goals scored in matches between tied teams
Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie is only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
Fair play points
first yellow card: minus 1 point
indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
direct red card: minus 4 points
yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

text: Group A[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Saudi Arabia

8

6

2

0

28

4

+24

20

Third round and Asian Cup

—

2–1

3–2

2–0

7–0[a]

2

 United Arab Emirates

8

5

2

1

27

4

+23

17

1–1

—

2–0

10–0

8–0

3

 Palestine

8

4

2

2

24

5

+19

14

Asian Cup qualifying third round

0–0

0–0

—

6–0

7–0

4

 Malaysia

8

2

0

6

7

29

−22

6

Asian Cup qualifying play-off round

0–3[b]

1–2

0–6

—

3–0[a]

5

 Timor-Leste[a]

8

0

0

8

0

44

−44

0

0–10

0–3[a]

0–3[a]

0–3[a]

—

text:
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Timor-Leste forfeited five group matches due to fielding numerous ineligible players.[14]

Jump up ^ The Malaysia v Saudi Arabia match, on 8 September 2015, was abandoned during the 87th minute after a group of supporters threw objects onto the pitch. At the time of the abandonment the score was 2–1 to Saudi Arabia. On 5 October 2015, FIFA decided that this match was forfeited by Malaysia and the result to be declared as a 3–0 win awarded for Saudi Arabia.[15][16]

text: Group B[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Australia

8

7

0

1

29

4

+25

21

Third round and Asian Cup

—

5–1

3–0

7–0

5–0

2

 Jordan

8

5

1

2

21

7

+14

16

Asian Cup qualifying third round

2–0

—

0–0

3–0

8–0

3

 Kyrgyzstan

8

4

2

2

10

8

+2

14

1–2

1–0

—

2–2

2–0

4

 Tajikistan

8

1

2

5

9

20

−11

5

Asian Cup qualifying play-off round

0–3

1–3

0–1

—

5–0

5

 Bangladesh

8

0

1

7

2

32

−30

1

0–4

0–4

1–3

1–1

—

text: Group C[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Qatar

8

7

0

1

29

4

+25

21

Third round and Asian Cup

—

1–0

2–0

4–0

15–0

2

 China PR

8

5

2

1

27

1

+26

17

2–0

—

0–0

4–0

12–0

3

 Hong Kong

8

4

2

2

13

5

+8

14

Asian Cup qualifying third round

2–3

0–0

—

2–0

7–0

4

 Maldives

8

2

0

6

8

20

−12

6

Asian Cup qualifying play-off round

0–1

0–3

0–1

—

4–2

5

 Bhutan

8

0

0

8

5

52

−47

0

0–3

0–6

0–1

3–4

—

text: Group D[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Iran

8

6

2

0

26

3

+23

20

Third round and Asian Cup

—

2–0

3–1

6–0

4–0

2

 Oman

8

4

2

2

11

7

+4

14

Asian Cup qualifying third round

1–1

—

3–1

1–0

3–0

3

 Turkmenistan

8

4

1

3

10

11

−1

13

1–1

2–1

—

1–0

2–1

4

 Guam

8

2

1

5

3

16

−13

7

0–6

0–0

1–0

—

2–1

5

 India

8

1

0

7

5

18

−13

3

Asian Cup qualifying play-off round

0–3[a]

1–2

1–2

1–0

—

text: Jump up ^ FIFA awarded Iran a 3–0 win as a result of India fielding the ineligible player Eugeneson Lyngdoh.[17] The match initially ended 3–0 to Iran.

text: Group E[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Japan

8

7

1

0

27

0

+27

22

Third round and Asian Cup

—

5–0

0–0

5–0

3–0

2

 Syria

8

6

0

2

26

11

+15

18

0–3

—

1–0

5–2

6–0

3

 Singapore

8

3

1

4

9

9

0

10

Asian Cup qualifying third round

0–3

1–2

—

1–0

2–1

4

 Afghanistan

8

3

0

5

8

24

−16

9

0–6

0–6

2–1

—

3–0

5

 Cambodia

8

0

0

8

1

27

−26

0

Asian Cup qualifying play-off round

0–2

0–6

0–4

0–1

—

text: Group F[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Thailand

6

4

2

0

14

6

+8

14

Third round and Asian Cup

—

2–2

1–0

4–2

—

2

 Iraq

6

3

3

0

13

6

+7

12

2–2

—

1–0

5–1

—

3

 Vietnam

6

2

1

3

7

8

−1

7

Asian Cup qualifying third round

0–3

1–1

—

4–1

—

4

 Chinese Taipei

6

0

0

6

5

19

−14

0

Asian Cup qualifying play-off round

0–2

0–2

1–2

—

—

5

 Indonesia (D)

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Disqualified due to FIFA suspension[a]

—

—

—

—

—

text: Jump up ^ On 30 May 2015, FIFA announced that the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) was suspended with immediate effect for governmental interference.[18] On 3 June 2015, the AFC confirmed that Indonesia have been excluded from the qualifying competition, and all matches involving them have been cancelled.[19]

text: Group G[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 South Korea

8

8

0

0

27

0

+27

24

Third round and Asian Cup

—

1–0

3–0[a]

4–0

8–0

2

 Lebanon

8

3

2

3

12

6

+6

11

Asian Cup qualifying third round

0–3

—

0–1

1–1

7–0

3

 Kuwait[a]

8

3

1

4

12

10

+2

10

0–1

0–0

—

9–0

0–3[a]

4

 Myanmar

8

2

2

4

9

21

−12

8

0–2

0–2

3–0[a]

—

3–1

5

 Laos

8

1

1

6

6

29

−23

4

Asian Cup qualifying play-off round

0–5

0–2

0–2

2–2

—

text: ^ Jump up to: a b c d On 16 October 2015, the Kuwait FA was suspended by FIFA with immediate effect, after Kuwait had failed to comply with a decision from the FIFA Executive Committee that sports law of the country had to be changed before 15 October. The three remaining matches involving Kuwait (away v Myanmar, home v Laos, away v South Korea) were not played as originally scheduled, and were later awarded as 3–0 wins for Kuwait's opponents.

text: Group H[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Uzbekistan

8

7

0

1

20

7

+13

21

Third round and Asian Cup

—

3–1

1–0

1–0

1–0

2

 North Korea

8

5

1

2

14

8

+6

16

Asian Cup qualifying third round

4–2

—

0–0

2–0

1–0

3

 Philippines

8

3

1

4

8

12

−4

10

1–5

3–2

—

2–1

0–1

4

 Bahrain

8

3

0

5

10

10

0

9

0–4

0–1

2–0

—

3–0

5

 Yemen

8

1

0

7

2

17

−15

3

Asian Cup qualifying play-off round

1–3

0–3[a]

0–2

0–4

—

text: Jump up ^ FIFA awarded North Korea a 3–0 win as a result of Yemen fielding the ineligible player Mudir Al-Radaei, after North Korea had defeated Yemen 1–0. Al-Radaei failed to serve an automatic one match suspension for receiving two yellow cards earlier in the First Round of the competition.[20]

text: Ranking of runner-up teams[edit]

text: To determine the four best runner-up teams, the following criteria were used:

text:
Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
Goal difference
Goals scored
Fair play points
Drawing of lots

text: As a result of Indonesia being disqualified due to FIFA suspension, Group F contained only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team were not counted when determining the ranking of the runner-up teams.[21]

text:
Pos

Grp

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

F

 Iraq

6

3

3

0

13

6

+7

12

Third round and Asian Cup

2

E

 Syria

6

4

0

2

14

11

+3

12

3

A

 United Arab Emirates

6

3

2

1

16

4

+12

11

4

C

 China PR

6

3

2

1

9

1

+8

11

5

H

 North Korea

6

3

1

2

10

8

+2

10

Asian Cup qualifying third round

6

B

 Jordan

6

3

1

2

9

7

+2

10

7

D

 Oman

6

2

2

2

6

6

0

8

8

G

 Lebanon

6

1

2

3

3

6

−3

5

text: Third round[edit]

text: The third round consisted of two groups of six teams. The first two teams in each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The two third-placed teams proceeded to the fourth round.

text: The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016, at 16:30 MST (UTC+8), at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[22][23]

text: Groups[edit]

text: Group A[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Iran

10

6

4

0

10

2

+8

22

Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup

—

1–0

2–2

2–0

1–0

2–0

2

 South Korea

10

4

3

3

11

10

+1

15

0–0

—

1–0

2–1

3–2

3–2

3

 Syria

10

3

4

3

9

8

+1

13

Advance to fourth round

0–0

0–0

—

1–0

2–2

3–1

4

 Uzbekistan

10

4

1

5

6

7

−1

13

0–1

0–0

1–0

—

2–0

1–0

5

 China PR

10

3

3

4

8

10

−2

12

0–0

1–0

0–1

1–0

—

0–0

6

 Qatar

10

2

1

7

8

15

−7

7

0–1

3–2

1–0

0–1

1–2

—

text: Group B[edit]

text:
Pos

Team[ vte ]

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

Qualification

1

 Japan

10

6

2

2

17

7

+10

20

Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup

—

2–1

2–0

1–2

2–1

4–0

2

 Saudi Arabia

10

6

1

3

17

10

+7

19

1–0

—

2–2

3–0

1–0

1–0

3

 Australia

10

5

4

1

16

11

+5

19

Advance to fourth round

1–1

3–2

—

2–0

2–0

2–1

4

 United Arab Emirates

10

4

1

5

10

13

−3

13

0–2

2–1

0–1

—

2–0

3–1

5

 Iraq

10

3

2

5

11

12

−1

11

1–1

1–2

1–1

1–0

—

4–0

6

 Thailand

10

0

2

8

6

24

−18

2

0–2

0–3

2–2

1–1

1–2

—

text: Fourth round[edit]

text: The two third-placed teams in each group from the third round played against each other home-and-away over two legs to determine which team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

text: The order of legs was announced during the draw for the third round.[24] Syria played their home match, as with all their home matches in the third round, in Malaysia due to the war time condition in Syria.[25]

text:
Team 1

Agg.

Team 2

1st leg

2nd leg

Syria

2–3

 Australia

1–1

1–2 (a.e.t.)

text: Inter-confederation play-offs[edit]

text: The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg.[26] The fifth-placed team from AFC was drawn against the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF, with the AFC team hosting the second leg.[27]

text:
Team 1

Agg.

Team 2

1st leg

2nd leg

Honduras

1–3

 Australia

0–0

1–3

text: Qualified teams[edit]

text: The following five teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.

text:
Team

Qualified as

Qualified on

Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1

 Iran
Third Round Group A winners
12 June 2017
4 (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014)

 Japan
Third Round Group B winners
31 August 2017
5 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)

 South Korea
Third Round Group A runners-up
5 September 2017
9 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)

 Saudi Arabia
Third Round Group B runners-up
5 September 2017
4 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)

 Australia
CONCACAF v AFC play-off winners
15 November 2017
4 (1974, 2006, 2010, 2014)

text: Top goalscorers[edit]

text:
Mohammad Al-Sahlawi[A]
 Ahmed Khalil

text:
Tim Cahill
 Sardar Azmoun[A]

text:
Mile Jedinak
 Omar Kharbin

text:
Hassan Al-Haydos
 Ali Mabkhout

text:
Yang Xu
 Mehdi Taremi[A]

text:
Yu Dabao
 Keisuke Honda
 Son Heung-min

text:
Tom Rogic
 Mohannad Abdul-Raheem
 Shinji Kagawa
 Hamza Al-Dardour
 Taisir Al-Jassim[A]
 Mahmoud Al-Mawas
 Manuchekhr Dzhalilov

text: For full lists of goalscorers, see sections in each round:

text:
First round
Second round
Third round
Fourth round

text: Notes[edit]

text: ^ Jump up to: a b c d This player's goal tally includes one or more goals which the player scored in matches that were subsequently forfeited, but which FIFA continues to count in its statistics.


document_title: List of most-followed Twitter accounts

question_text: how many twitter followers does selena gomez have

root

text: List of most-followed Twitter accounts

text: Top 50 accounts[edit]

text: The following table lists the top 50 most followed accounts on Twitter, with each total rounded to the nearest million followers, as well as the profession or activity of each user, and their country of origin.[1] It was last updated on October 26, 2018[update].

tag: p

text:
Rank

Change  (monthly)

Account name

Owner

Followers  (millions)

Activity

Country

1.

@katyperry

Katy Perry

108

Musician

 USA

2.

@justinbieber

Justin Bieber

105

Musician

 CAN

3.

@BarackObama

Barack Obama

103

Former U.S. President

 USA

4.

@rihanna

Rihanna

89

Musician

 BAR

5.

@taylorswift13

Taylor Swift

84

Musician

 USA

6.

@ladygaga

Lady Gaga

78

Musician and actress

 USA

7.

@TheEllenShow

Ellen DeGeneres

77

Comedian

 USA

8.

@Cristiano

Cristiano Ronaldo

76

Footballer

 POR

9.

@YouTube

YouTube

72

Online video platform

 USA

10.

@jtimberlake

Justin Timberlake

65

Musician and actor

 USA

11.

@KimKardashian

Kim Kardashian West

59

Television personality

 USA

12.

@ArianaGrande

Ariana Grande

58

Musician

 USA

13.

@twitter

Twitter

58

Social media platform

 USA

14.

@ddlovato

Demi Lovato

57

Musician

 USA

15.

@selenagomez

Selena Gomez

57

Musician and actress

 USA

16.

@britneyspears

Britney Spears

57

Musician

 USA

17.

@realDonaldTrump

Donald Trump

55

Current U.S. President

 USA

18.

@cnnbrk

CNN Breaking News

55

News channel

 USA

19.

@shakira

Shakira

51

Musician

 COL

20.

@jimmyfallon

Jimmy Fallon

51

Comedian

 USA

21.

@BillGates

Bill Gates

46

Businessman and philanthropist

 USA

22.

@narendramodi

Narendra Modi

44

Current Prime Minister of India

 IND

23.

@JLo

Jennifer Lopez

44

Musician and actress

 USA

24.

@BrunoMars

Bruno Mars

42

Musician

 USA

25.

@nytimes

The New York Times

42

Newspaper

 USA

26.

@Oprah

Oprah Winfrey

42

Television personality and businesswoman

 USA

27.

@KingJames

LeBron James

42

Basketball player

 USA

28.

@neymarjr

Neymar

41

Footballer

 BRA

29.

@CNN

CNN

41

News channel

 USA

30.

@MileyCyrus

Miley Cyrus

41

Musician and actress

 USA

31.

@NiallOfficial

Niall Horan

40

Musician

 IRL

32.

@BBCBreaking

BBC Breaking News

39

News channel

 GBR

33.

@Drake

Drake

38

Rapper

 CAN

34.

@instagram

Instagram

37

Social media platform

 USA

35.

@iamsrk

Shah Rukh Khan

37

Actor and producer

 IND

36.

@SrBachchan

Amitabh Bachchan

35

Actor

 IND

37.

@SportsCenter

SportsCenter

35

Sports news

 USA

38.

@BeingSalmanKhan

Salman Khan

35

Actor and producer

 IND

39.

@KevinHart4real

Kevin Hart

35

Comedian and actor

 USA

40.

@LilTunechi

Lil Wayne

34

Rapper

 USA

41.

@espn

ESPN

34

Sports channel

 USA

42.

@wizkhalifa

Wiz Khalifa

34

Rapper

 USA

43.

@Louis_Tomlinson

Louis Tomlinson

33

Musician

 GBR

44.

@Harry_Styles

Harry Styles

33

Musician

 GBR

45.

@LiamPayne

Liam Payne

33

Musician

 GBR

46.

@Pink

Pink

32

Musician

 USA

47.

@onedirection

One Direction

31

Band

 GBR IRL

48.

@realmadrid

Real Madrid C.F.

31

Football club

 ESP

49.

@aliciakeys

Alicia Keys

30

Musician

 USA

50.

@KAKA

Kaká

30

Footballer

 BRA

tag: table


document_title: Holly Flax

question_text: what episode do holly and michael get back together

text: Holly Flax

text: Overview[edit]

text: Holly Flax is the human resources representative for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. She and Michael Scott become good friends in the office, though Michael desires to turn their friendship into a romance, which eventually takes place. Executive producer Greg Daniels has repeatedly stated that the inspiration for Flax's character stems from a shopgirl who served him on a vacation in Newfoundland, Canada, whom he described as "a female Michael Scott."

text: She is originally from Des Moines, Iowa, and her parents now live in Boulder, Colorado and her father suffers from dementia. In her early life, she held the position of hall monitor in middle school due to her geeky demeanor, and because of this, was a target of harassment by other students. When she was in high school, she was diagnosed with mono.

text: Character history[edit]

text: Season 4[edit]

text: Holly arrives at Dunder Mifflin to serve as Toby's replacement. Michael initially dislikes her because she is part of Human Resources, but quickly falls in love with her. She is subjected to hazing by Dwight Schrute, who convinces her that Kevin Malone is mentally challenged, a belief she continued to harbor until Season Five when it was embarrassingly pointed out to her that he wasn't. During an attempt to put a raccoon in Holly's car, a Toyota Camry Solara convertible, Dwight is berated by Michael, who takes Holly's side and loudly proclaims that she is the "best thing that has happened to him and the company since World War II." Holly invites Michael to go out for dessert after Toby's going away party, but Michael turns her down, opting instead to go with Jan Levinson, who is pregnant and had asked Michael to be there as if he were the child's father.[1]

text: Season 5[edit]

text: Michael had been courting Holly in the first episode of the season. Holly practices yoga, so Oscar refers Holly to a yoga class with an attractive teacher. Holly agrees to a date with him, much to Michael's dismay. Holly buys tickets for Counting Crows, but the yoga instructor doesn't call her. Michael, who does not pick up on several hints that Holly has given him (about attending the concert with her), purchases the tickets from her and rips them to pieces.[2] She ultimately considers him to be her best friend in the office. It is also revealed that she was picked on as a child just like Michael.[3] Michael is pleased when Corporate HR blasts Holly for seeking disciplinary action against Meredith over the sex-for-supplies (and Outback Steakhouse coupons) deal instead of conducting a stupid seminar and getting signatures, but he also yells at the staff to complete the seminar. This also restores good feelings between Holly and Michael.

text: Michael tells Holly he will treat her poorly in front of Jan during her baby shower because he has a vested interest in Jan's baby, which is not his. Despite being told of this, she is shown to be uncomfortable with Michael's attitude toward her. However, despite witnessing Michael's treatment of Holly throughout the day, Jan notices the two of them have a lot in common after Holly makes jokes in front of her. Jan then orders Michael not to date Holly before driving away. This, in addition to feeling no connection with Jan's baby, prompts Michael to apologetically hug Holly and ask her out on a date, which she accepts, visibly moved.[4]

text: Holly and Michael date, and on their third date have sex in the office (inadvertently leading to the break-in at the office). She helps Michael organize a fundraiser (offering yoga lessons) and displeases CFO David Wallace, who sees them kissing, thus noticing a relationship.[5] In response, she is transferred back to Nashua. She and Michael plan to continue dating, but realize on the trip that the distance is insurmountable. Thus, they are forced to end their relationship, sharing one last embrace before saying goodbye. Michael tells everyone that they are engaged upon his return, but later admits this is not true.[6] Later, David is called out on the transfer by Michael, who chastises him on the phone before hanging up.[7]

text: When Michael comes to Nashua with Pam Beesly to give his lecture and find closure with Holly, she is not there because she is on an HR retreat. It is also revealed that she is dating one of the salesmen there, A.J., which deeply upsets Michael and makes him unable to do his presentation; he ultimately breaks down and asks her boyfriend about Holly in front of everyone before leaving. He goes to her desk and smells her sweater, cutting a sleeve off to take with him. Michael finds a file on her computer titled "Dear Michael" and copies it to his flash drive. He tells Pam about it, and Pam volunteers to read it herself and deletes it afterward, telling Michael it said she still has feelings for him and that it isn't over. It is unclear whether Pam was telling the truth.[8]

text: Holly and Michael reunite at the Dunder Mifflin company picnic for the first time since she was transferred. She is still seeing A.J., who arrives with her. Holly and A.J. have apparently started living together. David Wallace lets Holly and Michael do a skit about the history of Dunder Mifflin; the two decide to do a skit that spoofs Slumdog Millionaire. The presentation goes horribly and gets worse when they reveal that the Buffalo branch is closing down, much to everyone's surprise. Michael and Holly reminisce about the presentation and talk about one in the future. Holly leaves with A.J., with Michael noting that it wasn't the right time to talk to her and that they will eventually find each other.

text: Season 6[edit]

text: Holly does not appear in Season 6, but is mentioned many times by Michael, who still has feelings for her. Her return is hinted at in the season finale, "Whistleblower," after Michael takes the fall for Sabre's defective printers. In return for his loyalty, Michael requests that Holly be returned to Scranton. Jo says she will see what she can do.

text: Season 7[edit]

text: Holly first appears over speakerphone in "Sex Ed", when Michael calls her in fear that he may have contracted herpes and infected Holly with it. The lighthearted conversation turns serious when Holly suggests that Michael over-romanticized their relationship, which she characterizes as "just a fling".

text: In "Classy Christmas", Holly returns to Scranton to fill in while Toby is away at jury duty. The initial excitement about seeing her old friend again turns to anger when a jealous Michael vandalizes her Woody doll (a gift from her boyfriend AJ). Holly divulges to the women of the office that AJ won't commit, and she's going to give him an ultimatum to propose to her by New Year's. When Pam tells Michael, he is cheered up by the news, as well as Holly lying to AJ about how Woody got damaged.

text: Holly returns from the holiday break in "Ultimatum" without an engagement ring. Michael is briefly enthusiastic until he learns that Holly gave up on her ultimatum, considering it unreasonable. However, at the end of the episode, Holly tells A.J. that she wants to take a "break" from their relationship. Her and Michael's friendship seems to rebuild itself with "The Seminar".

text: In "The Search", Holly rejects Michael's advances, saying she doesn't want to be involved with a coworker again. When he goes missing, Holly is able to track Michael's footsteps due to their similar thought patterns. When she finds him on a building rooftop, they admit that they miss each other and share a kiss.

text: In the episode "PDA", it is revealed that Michael and Holly are officially dating. They make the rest of the office uncomfortable with their excessive public displays of affection, and agree to stop only at the insistence of their coworkers. Later that day, when Michael declares that he loves Holly and she says that she returns his feelings, they must settle for a handshake. In order to avoid the kind of breakup they have previously experienced, they decide to move in together.

text: As the season progresses, Holly's presence leads Michael to become a more mature adult. In "Threat Level Midnight", Michael screens the film that he had been working on for the past 11 years. Michael is hurt when Holly isn't impressed, but her honesty helps him realize that the film is laughably awful. In "Todd Packer", Todd Packer returns to the sales bullpen. She initially trusts Michael's assessment of Packer, but confronts Michael about his friend after Packer shows his true colors. When Michael tries to smooth things over, Packer speaks disrespectfully about Holly. Michael decides not to disclose that Packer's "promotion" in Florida is a prank by Jim and Dwight, and as Michael and Holly watch him drive away it's obvious that she is helping Michael to grow. A deleted scene from this episode reveals that Holly has a blind friend named Lois, who doesn't get along with Michael.

text: In "Garage Sale", she realizes her aging parents need assistance and decides to move home to Colorado. She briefly changes her mind when Michael seems reluctant, saying that he is her life now. At the end of the episode, Michael leads her through various spots in the building that are meaningful to them (the stairwell where they first kissed, the water cooler he visited just to watch her work). He finally leads her to the annex which is filled with lighted candles. He begins to propose to her when the sprinkler system goes off. Through her laughter, she accepts his proposal. Afterwards, he announces to the office he's quitting his job to move to Colorado with his fiancée.

text: Holly does not appear in the subsequent episodes "Training Day" and "Michael's Last Dundies", but did have a voice-only segment (in a telephone conversation) in "Goodbye, Michael", confirming with Michael that she'll pick him up at the airport when his plane lands. In the process, she unintentionally cheers a distraught Michael up when he initially gets cold feet about moving to Colorado. The episode marked Steve Carell's final episode as a series regular.

text: Season 9[edit]

text: Holly does not appear in any episodes, but Michael makes a surprise appearance at Dwight and Angela's wedding in the series finale. During the wedding reception, Michael shows Pam pictures of Holly and Michael's kids on his cell phone. Pam reveals that Michael and Holly are living very happily together. Michael now has two cell phones to store all the pictures that he takes of their kids, and is very happy to finally have a family plan. NBC.com later revealed that Michael and Holly had four children together.