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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Tournament details
DatesOctober 2023–November 2025
Teams46 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played38
Goals scored120 (3.16 per match)
Attendance501,186 (13,189 per match)
Top scorer(s)Qatar Almoez Ali
(4 goals)
← 2022
2030 →

The Asian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held in Canada, the United States and Mexico for national teams who are members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). A total of 8 1⁄3 slots (8 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament are available for AFC teams.

The qualification process involves five rounds; the first two double as the qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

Format[]

The qualification structure was revamped to fit the eight-team slot and it is as follows:

  • First round: 20 teams (ranked 27–46) will play home-and-away over two legs. The eleven winners advance to the second round.
  • Second round: 36 teams (ranked 1–25 and eleven first-round winners) are divided into nine groups of four teams. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The nine group winners and group runners-up advance to the third round and automatically qualify to the AFC Asian Cup.
  • Third round: 18 teams which advance from the second round are divided into three groups of six teams. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top two teams of each group qualify directly for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the third and fourth-placed teams advance to the fourth round.
  • Fourth round: Six third and fourth-placed teams from the third round are divided into two groups of three teams each. The teams would play against each other once in a neutral venue. The winners of each group qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the runners-up of each group advance to the fifth round.
  • Fifth round: The group runners-up in the fourth round will compete in a play-off tie to determine the Asian representation at the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants[]

All FIFA-affiliated nations are eligible to enter the joint qualification process for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup; Northern Mariana Islands, who is not a FIFA member, will enter through the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off round.

Format[]

The qualification format was announced on 1 August 2022, having been revamped to fit the increased finals allocation of eight direct qualifiers and one play-off qualifier:

  • First round: 20 teams (ranked 27–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The ten winners advanced to the second round. Losing teams are eligible for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off round (nine), and the AFC Solidarity Cup.
  • Second round: 36 teams (ranked 1–26 and ten first-round winners) are divided into nine groups of four teams. The teams will play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The nine group winners and group runners-up advance to the third round and automatically qualify for the AFC Asian Cup.
  • Third round: 18 teams which advance from the second round are divided into three groups of six teams. The teams will play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top two teams of each group qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup, the third and fourth-placed teams advance to the fourth round.
  • Fourth round: Six third and fourth-placed teams from the third round are divided into two groups of three teams each. The teams will play against each other once in a neutral venue. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup, and the runners-up of each group advance to the fifth round.
  • Fifth round: The group runners-up in the fourth round will compete home-and-away over two legs to determine the Asian representation at the inter-confederation play-offs.

Draw[]

The draw for the first and second rounds of joint qualification took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 July 2023. The top 26 ranked teams were given byes to the second round, while the 20 teams entering the first round were seeded into two pots of 10 teams each and drawn alternately from pot 1 then pot 2 to form a pairing. The team from pot 1 hosted the first leg and the team from pot 2 hosted the second leg. Pots 1, 2 and 3 for the second round draw contained the teams ranked 1–9, 10–18, and 19–26, respectively, while pot 4 contained placeholders for the ten first round ties. Nine teams were drawn from pot 4 first and placed in position 4 of each group. The tenth team from pot 4 was moved to Pot 3, and subsequently drawn at random from Pot 3. Teams were then drawn into each group sequentially from pots 3, 2, and 1.

From the July 2023 FIFA World Rankings
Bye to second round Competing in first round
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 1 Pot 2
  1.  Japan (20)
  2.  Iran (22)
  3.  Australia (27)
  4.  South Korea (28)
  5.  Saudi Arabia (54)
  6.  Qatar (59)
  7.  Iraq (70)
  8.  United Arab Emirates (72)
  9.  Oman (73)
  1.  Uzbekistan (74)
  2.  China (80)
  3.  Jordan (82)
  4.  Bahrain (86)
  5.  Syria (94)
  6.  Vietnam (95)
  7.  Palestine (96)
  8.  Kyrgyzstan (97)
  9.  India (99)
  1.  Lebanon (100)
  2.  Tajikistan (110)
  3.  Thailand (113)
  4.  North Korea (115)
  5.  Philippines (135)
  6.  Malaysia (136)
  7.  Kuwait (137)
  8.  Turkmenistan (138)
  1.  Hong Kong (149)
  2.  Indonesia (150)
  3.  Chinese Taipei (153)
  4.  Maldives (155)
  5.  Yemen (156)
  6.  Afghanistan (157)
  7.  Singapore (158)
  8.  Myanmar (160)
  9.  Nepal (175)
  10.  Cambodia (176)
  1.  Macau (182)
  2.  Mongolia (183)
  3.  Bhutan (185)
  4.  Laos (187)
  5.  Bangladesh (189)
  6.  Brunei (190)
  7.  Timor-Leste (192)
  8.  Pakistan (201)
  9.  Guam (203)
  10.  Sri Lanka (204)

Schedule[]

The schedule of the competition is expected to be as follows, according to the FIFA International Match Calendar.

Round Matchday Date(s)
First round First leg 12 October 2023
Second leg 17 October 2023
Second round Matchday 1 16 November 2023
Matchday 2 21 November 2023
Matchday 3 21 March 2024
Matchday 4 26 March 2024
Matchday 5 6 June 2024
Matchday 6 11 June 2024
Round Matchday Date
Third round Matchday 1 5 September 2024
Matchday 2 10 September 2024
Matchday 3 10 October 2024
Matchday 4 15 October 2024
Matchday 5 14 November 2024
Matchday 6 19 November 2024
Matchday 7 20 March 2025
Matchday 8 25 March 2025
Matchday 9 19 June 2025
Matchday 10 24 June 2025
Fourth round Matchday 1 September 2025
Matchday 2
Matchday 3
Fifth round Single leg October 2025

First round[]

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round

The ten winners advanced to the second round of qualifying.

Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
Afghanistan  2–0  Mongolia 1–0 1–0
Maldives  2–3  Bangladesh 1–1 1–2
Singapore  3–1  Guam 2–1 1–0
Yemen  4–1  Sri Lanka 3–0 1–1
Myanmar  5–1  Macau 5–1 0–0
Cambodia  0–1  Pakistan 0–0 0–1
Chinese Taipei  7–0  Timor-Leste 4–0 3–0
Indonesia  12–0  Brunei 6–0 6–0
Hong Kong  4–2  Bhutan 4–0 0–2
Nepal  2–1  Laos 1–1 1–0

Second round[]

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Group A[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Qatar India Afghanistan Kuwait
1  Qatar (Q) 4 4 0 0 16 2 +14 12 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 8–1 3–0
2  India 4 1 1 2 2 5 −3 4 0–3 — 1–2 6 Jun
3  Afghanistan 4 1 1 2 3 13 −10 4 Asian Cup qualifying third round 6 Jun 0–0 — 0–4
4  Kuwait 4 1 0 3 5 6 −1 3 1–2 0–1 11 Jun —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Group B[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Japan Syria North Korea Myanmar
1  Japan (Q) 4 4 0 0 14 0 +14 12 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 1–0 5–0
2  Syria 4 2 1 1 9 6 +3 7 0–5 — 1–0 7–0
3  North Korea 4 1 0 3 6 6 0 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 6 Jun — 11 Jun
4  Myanmar 4 0 1 3 2 19 −17 1 6 Jun 1–1 1–6 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA, AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Group C[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification South Korea China Thailand Singapore
1  South Korea 4 3 1 0 12 1 +11 10 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 1–1 5–0
2  China 4 2 1 1 8 7 +1 7 0–3 — 6 Jun 4–1
3  Thailand 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 1–2 — 11 Jun
4  Singapore 4 0 1 3 4 14 −10 1 6 Jun 2–2 1–3 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group D[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Kyrgyzstan Oman Malaysia Chinese Taipei
1  Kyrgyzstan 4 3 0 1 11 5 +6 9 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–0 6 Jun 5–1
2  Oman 4 3 0 1 7 1 +6 9 11 Jun — 2–0 3–0
3  Malaysia 4 2 0 2 5 7 −2 6 Asian Cup qualifying third round 4–3 0–2 — 11 Jun
4  Chinese Taipei (Q) 4 0 0 4 1 11 −10 0 0–2 6 Jun 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Group E[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iran Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Hong Kong
1  Iran (Q) 4 3 1 0 12 2 +10 10 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 5–0 4–0
2  Uzbekistan (Q) 4 3 1 0 10 3 +7 10 2–2 — 6 Jun 3–0
3  Turkmenistan (Q) 4 0 1 3 3 11 −8 1 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–1 1–3 — 11 Jun
4  Hong Kong (Q) 4 0 1 3 2 11 −9 1 6 Jun 0–2 2–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Group F[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iraq Indonesia Vietnam Philippines
1  Iraq (Q) 4 4 0 0 12 1 +11 12 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 5–1 11 Jun 1–0
2  Indonesia 4 2 1 1 6 6 0 7 6 Jun — 1–0 11 Jun
3  Vietnam 4 1 0 3 2 5 −3 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–1 0–3 — 6 Jun
4  Philippines 4 0 1 3 1 9 −8 1 0–5 1–1 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Group G[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Saudi Arabia Jordan Tajikistan Pakistan
1  Saudi Arabia 4 3 1 0 8 1 +7 10 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 1–0 4–0
2  Jordan 4 2 1 1 11 3 +8 7 0–2 — 6 Jun 7–0
3  Tajikistan 4 1 2 1 8 4 +4 5 Asian Cup qualifying third round 1–1 1–1 — 11 Jun
4  Pakistan (Q) 4 0 0 4 1 20 −19 0 6 Jun 0–3 1–6 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Group H[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification United Arab Emirates Bahrain Yemen Nepal
1  United Arab Emirates (Q) 4 4 0 0 11 1 +10 12 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 2–1 4–0
2  Bahrain 4 3 0 1 10 2 +8 9 0–2 — 6 Jun 3–0
3  Yemen 4 1 0 3 3 7 −4 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 0–2 — 11 Jun
4  Nepal (Q) 4 0 0 4 0 14 −14 0 6 Jun 0–5 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Group I[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Australia Palestine Lebanon Bangladesh
1  Australia (Q) 4 4 0 0 15 0 +15 12 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 2–0 7–0
2  Palestine 4 2 1 1 6 1 +5 7 0–1 — 6 Jun 5–0
3  Lebanon 4 0 2 2 1 8 −7 2 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–5 0–0 — 11 Jun
4  Bangladesh 4 0 1 3 1 14 −13 1 6 Jun 0–1 1–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Third round[]

Group A[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2026 FIFA World Cup
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fourth round
4 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 A5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 A6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 5 September 2024. Source: .
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2026 FIFA World Cup
2 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fourth round
4 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 B5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 B6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 5 September 2024. Source: .
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group C[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2026 FIFA World Cup
2 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fourth round
4 C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 C5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 C6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 5 September 2024. Source: .
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Fourth round[]

Group A[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2026 FIFA World Cup
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fifth round
3 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on October 2025. Source: .
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2026 FIFA World Cup
2 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fifth round
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on October 2025. Source: .
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Fifth round[]

The two second-placed teams in each group from the fourth round will play against each other over two legs in November 2025 to determine which team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
– Nov '25 Nov '25

Inter-confederation play-offs[]

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

The fifth-round winner will join one team each from CAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

See also[]

External links[]

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
AFC
First round · Second round · Third round · Fourth round · Fifth round (play-off)
CAF

First round: (Group A · Group B · Group C · Group D · Group E · Group F · Group G · Group H · Group I) · Second round (play-offs)

CONCACAF
First round · Second round · Third round
CONMEBOL
Round Robin
OFC
First round · Second round · Third round
UEFA

First round: (Group A · Group B · Group C · Group D · Group E · Group F · Group G · Group H · Group I · Group J · Group K · Group L) · Second round (play-offs)

Play-offs
Inter-confederation play-offs
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