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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
File:AFC Asian Qualifiers.png
Tournament details
Dates12 October 2023 – November 2025
Teams46 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played56
Goals scored175 (3.13 per match)
Attendance773,049 (13,804 per match)
Top scorer(s)Japan Ayase Ueda
Qatar Almoez Ali
(5 goals each)
← 2022
2030 →
All statistics correct as of 21 November 2023.
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

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, will enter through the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off round.[2]

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:[3]

  • 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).
  • 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.[2]

Draw

The draw for the first and second rounds of joint qualification took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 July 2023.[3][4] 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.[3]

From the July 2023 FIFA World Rankings[5]
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

The competition schedule is expected to be as follows:[6][7][8][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 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 October 2025
Matchday 2
Matchday 3
Fifth round First leg November 2025
Second leg

First round

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

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

Group A

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: 5 September 2024. Source: [citation needed]
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: 5 September 2024. Source: [citation needed]
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: 5 September 2024. Source: [citation needed]
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: October 2025. Source: [citation needed]
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: October 2025. Source: [citation needed]
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.[2]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score 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.[9]

Top goalscorers

There have been 475 goals scored in 163 matches, for an average of 2.91 goals per match (as of 15 October 2024). Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.

10 goals

8 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for each round:

See also

References

  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. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Stage set for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. ^ "FIFA Men's Ranking – July 2023". FIFA. 20 July 2023.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2024 – Jul 2025)" (PDF). AFC. 7 April 2023.
  8. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026)" (PDF). AFC. 7 April 2023.
  9. ^ "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.
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