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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Tournament details
Dates12 October 2023 – 18 November 2025
Teams46 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played181
Goals scored524 (2.9 per match)
Attendance3,681,445 (20,339 per match)
Top scorer(s)Qatar Almoez Ali
(12 goals)
← 2022
2030 →
All statistics correct as of 19 November 2024.
AFC Asian Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup
AFC Asian Cup

The Asian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup for national teams of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). AFC teams have been allocated eight direct qualifying slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot.[1]

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

Entrants

[edit]

All FIFA-affiliated nations entered 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, would have entered through the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off round.[2] However, the AFC excluded Northern Mariana Islands from the draw for the play-off round.[3]

Format

[edit]

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:[4][5]

  • First round: 20 teams (ranked 27–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The ten winners advanced to the second round. The best loser qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round, while the remaining teams qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off round.
  • 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 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The remaining teams qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round.
  • 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 centralized 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.[2]

Draw

[edit]

The draw for the first and second rounds of joint qualification took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 July 2023.[5][6] 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.[5]

From the July 2023 FIFA World Rankings[7]
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.  East Timor (192)
  8.  Pakistan (201)
  9.  Guam (203)
  10.  Sri Lanka (204)

Schedule

[edit]

The competition schedule is expected to be as follows:[8][9][10][2]

Round Matchday Date
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 14–15 November 2024
Matchday 6 19 November 2024
Matchday 7 20 March 2025
Matchday 8 25 March 2025
Matchday 9 5 June 2025
Matchday 10 10 June 2025
Round Matchday Dates
Fourth round Matchday 1 8 October 2025
Matchday 2 11 October 2025
Matchday 3 14 October 2025
Fifth round First leg 13 November 2025
Second leg 18 November 2025

First round

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round of World Cup qualifying.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Afghanistan 2–0 Mongolia1–01–0
Maldives 2–3 Bangladesh1–11–2
Singapore 3–1 Guam2–11–0
Yemen 4–1 Sri Lanka3–01–1
Myanmar 5–1 Macau5–10–0
Cambodia 0–1 Pakistan0–00–1
Chinese Taipei 7–0 East Timor4–03–0
Indonesia 12–0 Brunei6–06–0
Hong Kong 4–2 Bhutan4–00–2
Nepal   2–1 Laos1–11–0

Second round

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Summary

[edit]
  Qualified for the third round and Asian Cup as winners or runners-up
  Advanced to the Asian Cup third qualifying round as third or fourth place
Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I

Qatar

Kuwait
Japan

North Korea
South Korea

China
Oman

Kyrgyzstan
Iran

Uzbekistan
Iraq

Indonesia
Jordan

Saudi Arabia[a]
United Arab Emirates

Bahrain
Australia

Palestine

India

Afghanistan
Syria

Myanmar
Thailand

Singapore
Malaysia

Chinese Taipei
Turkmenistan

Hong Kong
Vietnam

Philippines
Tajikistan

Pakistan
Yemen

Nepal
Lebanon

Bangladesh
  1. ^ Saudi Arabia had already qualified as hosts of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, so they were only competing for World Cup qualification.

Group A

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Qatar Kuwait India Afghanistan
1  Qatar 6 5 1 0 18 3 +15 16 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 3–0 2–1 8–1
2  Kuwait 6 2 1 3 6 6 0 7 1–2 — 0–1 1–0
3  India 6 1 2 3 3 7 −4 5 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 0–0 — 1–2
4  Afghanistan 6 1 2 3 3 14 −11 5 0–0 0–4 0–0 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Japan North Korea Syria Myanmar
1  Japan 6 6 0 0 24 0 +24 18 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–0 5–0 5–0
2  North Korea 6 3 0 3 11 7 +4 9 0–3[a] — 1–0 4–1
3  Syria 6 2 1 3 9 12 −3 7 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–5 1–0 — 7–0
4  Myanmar 6 0 1 5 3 28 −25 1 0–5 1–6 1–1 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ Japan were awarded a 3–0 victory by forfeit, after North Korea refused to host the match citing concerns about a disease spreading in Japan.

Group C

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification South Korea China Thailand Singapore
1  South Korea 6 5 1 0 20 1 +19 16 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–0 1–1 5–0
2  China 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 8[a] 0–3 — 1–1 4–1
3  Thailand 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 8[a] Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 1–2 — 3–1
4  Singapore 6 0 1 5 5 24 −19 1 0–7 2–2 1–3 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: China 4, Thailand 1.

Group D

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Oman Kyrgyzstan Malaysia Chinese Taipei
1  Oman 6 4 1 1 11 2 +9 13 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–1 2–0 3–0
2  Kyrgyzstan 6 3 2 1 13 7 +6 11 1–0 — 1–1 5–1
3  Malaysia 6 3 1 2 9 9 0 10 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–2 4–3 — 3–1
4  Chinese Taipei 6 0 0 6 2 17 −15 0 0–3 0–2 0–1 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group E

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iran Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Hong Kong
1  Iran 6 4 2 0 16 4 +12 14 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 0–0 5–0 4–0
2  Uzbekistan 6 4 2 0 13 4 +9 14 2–2 — 3–1 3–0
3  Turkmenistan 6 0 2 4 4 14 −10 2 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–1 1–3 — 0–0
4  Hong Kong 6 0 2 4 4 15 −11 2 2–4 0–2 2–2 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group F

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iraq Indonesia Vietnam Philippines
1  Iraq 6 6 0 0 17 2 +15 18 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 5–1 3–1 1–0
2  Indonesia 6 3 1 2 8 8 0 10 0–2 — 1–0 2–0
3  Vietnam 6 2 0 4 6 10 −4 6 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–1 0–3 — 3–2
4  Philippines 6 0 1 5 3 14 −11 1 0–5 1–1 0–2 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group G

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Jordan Saudi Arabia Tajikistan Pakistan
1  Jordan 6 4 1 1 16 4 +12 13 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 0–2 3–0 7–0
2  Saudi Arabia[a] 6 4 1 1 12 3 +9 13 World Cup qualifying third round 1–2 — 1–0 4–0
3  Tajikistan 6 2 2 2 11 7 +4 8 Asian Cup qualifying third round 1–1 1–1 — 3–0
4  Pakistan 6 0 0 6 1 26 −25 0 0–3 0–3 1–6 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ Saudi Arabia already qualified for the Asian Cup as the host nation and only competed to qualify for the World Cup.

Group H

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification United Arab Emirates Bahrain Yemen Nepal
1  United Arab Emirates 6 5 1 0 16 2 +14 16 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–1 2–1 4–0
2  Bahrain 6 3 2 1 11 3 +8 11 0–2 — 0–0 3–0
3  Yemen 6 1 2 3 5 9 −4 5 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 0–2 — 2–2
4    Nepal 6 0 1 5 2 20 −18 1 0–4 0–5 0–2 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group I

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Australia State of Palestine Lebanon Bangladesh
1  Australia 6 6 0 0 22 0 +22 18 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 5–0 2–0 7–0
2  Palestine 6 2 2 2 6 6 0 8 0–1 — 0–0 5–0
3  Lebanon 6 1 3 2 5 8 −3 6 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–5 0–0 — 4–0
4  Bangladesh 6 0 1 5 1 20 −19 1 0–2 0–1 1–1 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Third round

[edit]
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round

Group A

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iran Uzbekistan United Arab Emirates Qatar Kyrgyzstan North Korea
1  Iran (X) 6 5 1 0 12 5 +7 16 2026 FIFA World Cup — 25 Mar 20 Mar 4–1 1–0 10 Jun
2  Uzbekistan 6 4 1 1 8 5 +3 13 0–0 — 1–0 10 Jun 20 Mar 1–0
3  United Arab Emirates 6 3 1 2 12 4 +8 10 Fourth round 0–1 5 Jun — 5–0 3–0 1–1
4  Qatar 6 2 1 3 10 17 −7 7 5 Jun 3–2 1–3 — 3–1 20 Mar
5  Kyrgyzstan 6 1 0 5 6 13 −7 3 2–3 2–3 10 Jun 25 Mar — 1–0
6  North Korea 6 0 2 4 5 9 −4 2 2–3 0–1 25 Mar 2–2 5 Jun —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2024. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(X) Assured of advancing to the fourth round; can still qualify directly

Group B

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification South Korea Iraq Jordan Oman Kuwait State of Palestine
1  South Korea 6 4 2 0 12 5 +7 14 2026 FIFA World Cup — 3–2 25 Mar 20 Mar 10 Jun 0–0
2  Iraq 6 3 2 1 5 3 +2 11 5 Jun — 0–0 1–0 20 Mar 1–0
3  Jordan 6 2 3 1 9 5 +4 9 Fourth round 0–2 10 Jun — 4–0 1–1 20 Mar
4  Oman 6 2 0 4 6 9 −3 6 1–3 0–1 5 Jun — 4–0 1–0
5  Kuwait 6 0 4 2 5 11 −6 4 1–3 0–0 1–1 25 Mar — 5 Jun
6  Palestine 6 0 3 3 4 8 −4 3 1–1 25 Mar 1–3 10 Jun 2–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2024. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group C

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Japan Australia Indonesia Saudi Arabia Bahrain China
1  Japan (X) 6 5 1 0 22 2 +20 16 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–1 10 Jun 25 Mar 20 Mar 7–0
2  Australia 6 1 4 1 6 5 +1 7 5 Jun — 20 Mar 0–0 0–1 3–1
3  Indonesia 6 1 3 2 6 9 −3 6 Fourth round 0–4 0–0 — 2–0 25 Mar 5 Jun
4  Saudi Arabia 6 1 3 2 3 6 −3 6 0–2 10 Jun 1–1 — 0–0 20 Mar
5  Bahrain 6 1 3 2 5 10 −5 6 0–5 2–2 2–2 5 Jun — 0–1
6  China 6 2 0 4 6 16 −10 6 1–3 25 Mar 2–1 1–2 10 Jun —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2024. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(X) Assured of advancing to the fourth round; can still qualify directly

Fourth round

[edit]

Group A

[edit]
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: 8 October 2025. Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B

[edit]
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: 8 October 2025. Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Fifth round

[edit]

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.[2]

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Fourth round group runner-upFourth round group runner-up13 Nov '2518 Nov '25

Inter-confederation play-offs

[edit]
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.[11]

Top goalscorers

[edit]

There have been 524 goals scored in 181 matches, for an average of 2.9 goals per match (as of 19 November 2024). Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.

12 goals

10 goals

8 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for each round:

Controversies

[edit]

In the Bahrain vs Japan match, the Bahrain Football Association was fined $4,400 for fan misconduct during Japan's 5–0 win over Bahrain, which included the use of laser pointers and whistles to distract players, as well as Bahraini fans being heard mocking the Japanese national team's anthem.[12]

In the match between Bahrain and Indonesia, Bahrain equalised in the ninth minute of stoppage time, despite the fourth official displaying only six minutes of stoppage time. Two players were cautioned after the goal,[13][14] with one of the Indonesian officials also given marching orders.[15]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Unanimous decision expands FIFA World Cup to 48 teams from 2026". FIFA. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". Asian Football Confederation. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Six teams to contest Qualifiers Playoff for Saudi Arabia 2027". AFC. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Asia's pathway to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 confirmed". the-afc. Asian Football Confederation. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Seedings revealed for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". the-AFC. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Stage set for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  7. ^ "FIFA Men's Ranking – July 2023". FIFA. 20 July 2023.
  8. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2023 – Jul 2024)" (PDF). AFC. 7 April 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  9. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2024 – Jul 2025)" (PDF). AFC. 7 April 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  10. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Jul 2025 - Jun 2026)" (PDF). AFC. 26 June 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Bahrain FA Urges Fans To Avoid Disruptive Behaviour After FIFA Fine". News of Bahrain. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  13. ^ "AFC Asian Qualifiers | Bahrian – Indonesia". the-afc.com. 10 October 2024.
  14. ^ "'Got robbed': Outrage in Indonesia over late equaliser denying country historic World Cup Qualifiers win". CNA. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Indonesia still refuse to be beaten – but it was so nearly a historic win". ESPN. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
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