2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers

Rules, Schedule, and Results

The World Cup qualifiers began in October 2023. Through matches in six zones, 45 teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. These six zones are AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA. Each zone has its own rules for the qualifiers.

In this article, I will focus on the rules of the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers and the latest updates about the selection process. Let’s find out who can compete in the Asian qualifiers!

World Cup Asian Qualifiers Selection Rules

The number of spots for the World Cup is decided by FIFA. They usually allocate different spots based on the football strength and history of each continent. For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA has given Asia eight direct spots and one intercontinental play-off spot.

The Asian qualifiers process involves multiple rounds, with the first two rounds also serving as qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

Round 1

In the first round of the Asian qualifiers, 20 teams ranked 27-46 according to the AFC rankings will play home and away matches. There will be a total of 20 matches in this stage. The 10 winning teams from this round will advance to the second round. In addition, the best-performing team will directly qualify for the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The remaining teams will move on to the AFC Asian Cup qualification play-offs.

Round 2

The second round will involve 36 teams. This includes the top 26 teams (ranked 1-26) and the 10 winners from the first round. These teams will be divided into 9 groups, with 4 teams in each group.

Each team will play home and away matches. The winners and runners-up of each group will qualify for the third round. Additionally, they will automatically earn spots in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The remaining teams will advance to the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers as well.

Round 3

In the third round of the Asian qualifiers, the 18 teams that advanced from the second round will be divided into three groups, with six teams in each group. Each team will play home and away matches against every other team in their group. At the end of this round, the top two teams from each group will directly qualify for the World Cup. The third and fourth place teams will still have a chance to compete for World Cup qualification in the fourth round.

Round 4

The third and fourth place teams from each group (6 teams total) will be divided into two groups, with three teams in each group. They will play one match in a centralized location. The winner of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the runners-up will advance to the fifth round.

Round 5

The runners-up from Round 4 will play home and away matches to determine who will advance to the AFC intercontinental play-offs for a chance to qualify for the World Cup.

Schedule of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers

The Asian qualifiers for the World Cup started on October 9, 2023, and will end on November 18, 2025. Each round of matches is scheduled within a specific period, which gives most teams enough rest and training time to prepare for the qualifiers.

However, the first and second rounds involve many Asian countries, with a large number of teams. This means there will be several important matches each month, and the match density is higher. This makes the competition very intense, especially for teams with similar rankings.

The third round spans a longer period, from September 2024 to June 2025. The match density in this phase is lower. However, since every team is directly competing for a spot in the World Cup, the pressure in this stage will be higher for the players.

• Round 1: 9–17 October 2023 (Completed)

• Round 2: 13 November 2023 – 11 June 2024 (Completed)

• Round 3: 2 September 2024 – 10 June 2025 (Ongoing)

• Rounds 4 & 5: Dates TBD

• Play-offs: 6 October 2025 – 18 November 2025 (Upcoming)

Results of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers

Round 1 Results

In the first round, the following 10 teams advanced: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, Yemen, Afghanistan, Singapore, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Among them, the qualification of Hong Kong, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan is particularly surprising. These teams are generally not considered strong in Asian football. Therefore, their success in advancing to the next round has certainly added unexpected excitement to this year’s qualifiers.

Round 2 Results

Round 2 was divided into 9 groups, with two teams from each group advancing to the third round to compete for World Cup qualification. The teams that advanced are: Japan, Iran, Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Uzbekistan, China, Jordan, Bahrain, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Kuwait, and Indonesia.

Here are the specific results for each group (the teams in bold advanced to the next round):

Group A

1. QAT

2. KUW

3. IND

4. AFG

B

• JPN

• PRK

• SYR

• MYA

C

1. KOR

2. CHN

3. THA

4. SGP

D

1. OMA

2. KGZ

3. MAS

4. TPE

E

1. IRN

2. UZB

3. TKM

4. HKG

F

1. IRQ

2. IDN

3. VIE

4. PHI

G

1. JOR

2. KSA

3. TJK

4. PAK

H

1. UAE

2. BHR

3. YEM

4. NEP

Group I

1. AUS

2. PLE

3. LIB

4. BAN

Round 3 Results (Ongoing)

The third round is currently underway. In this round, the 18 teams are divided into three groups, with six teams in each group. The top two teams from each group will directly qualify for the World Cup.

Currently, the teams in first place in each group are: Iran, South Korea, and Japan. The teams in second place are: Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Australia.

Here are the specific match results:

Group A

• IRN

• UZB

• UAE

• QAT

• KGZ

• PRK

B

• KOR

• IRQ

• JOR

• OMA

• KUW

• PLE

C

• JPN

• AUS

• IDN

• KSA

• BHR

• CHN