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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Tournament details
Dates	12 October 2023 – 18 November 2025
Teams	46 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	181
Goals scored	524 (2.9 per match)
Attendance	3,730,310 (20,609 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Almoez Ali (12 goals)
← 2022 2030 → All statistics correct as of 19 November 2024.

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.

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, would have entered through the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off round. However, the AFC excluded Northern Mariana Islands from the draw for the 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. 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.

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.

Schedule

The competition schedule is expected to be as follows:

First round

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

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	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	East Timor	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

Summary

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	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

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—	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	—

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 v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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			0–3	—	1–1	4–1
3	Thailand	6	2	2	2	9	9	0	8	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	—

1. ^ Head-to-head points: China 4, Thailand 1.

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	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	—

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 v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Group I

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Third round

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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	—

Fourth round

Group A

Group B

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.

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.

Top goalscorers

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

• Almoez Ali

10 goals

• Son Heung-min

8 goals

• Ayase Ueda
• Yazan Al-Naimat

7 goals

• Sardar Azmoun
• Mehdi Taremi
• Aymen Hussein
• Fábio Lima

6 goals

• Kusini Yengi
• Kōki Ogawa
• Musa Al-Taamari
• Ali Olwan
• Joel Kojo

5 goals

• Wu Lei
• Mohammad Mohebi
• Jong Il-gwan
• Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri
• Harib Abdalla

Below are full goalscorer lists for each round:

• First round
• Second round
• Third round

Controversies

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.

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, with one of the Indonesian officials also given marching orders.

See also

• 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification

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. ^ "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. ^ "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.

External links

• Official FIFA World Cup website
• FIFA.com
• FIFA World Cup – the-AFC.com

• 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
• 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
• FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
• 2023 in Asian football
• 2024 in Asian football
• 2025 in Asian football