2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
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The Asian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup for national teams of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). AFC teams were allocated eight direct qualifying slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot.[1]
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 12 October 2023 – 18 November 2025 |
| Teams | 46 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 225 |
| Goals scored | 630 (2.8 per match) |
| Attendance | 5,057,905 (22,480 per match) |
| Top scorer |  Almoez Ali (12 goals) |
← 2022 2030 → | |
The qualification process involved 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 are not members of FIFA, 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
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) were divided into nine groups of four teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The nine group winners and group runners-up advanced to the third round and automatically qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The remaining teams qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round.
- Third round: 18 teams which advanced from the second round were divided into three groups of six teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top two teams of each group qualified directly for the FIFA World Cup, the third- and fourth-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.
- Fourth round: Six third- and fourth-placed teams from the third round were divided into two groups of three teams each. The teams played against each other once in a centralized venue. The winners of each group qualified for the World Cup, and the runners-up of each group advanced to the fifth round.
- Fifth round: The group runners-up in the fourth round competed 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.[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 winners of the 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]
| Bye to second round | Competing in first round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
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Schedule
The competition schedule was as follows:[8][9][10][2]
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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 |  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
Group A
Group B
- 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 |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
- Head-to-head points: China 4, Thailand 1.
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Group G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
- 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 |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran |
10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 23 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Uzbekistan |
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 21 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | United Arab Emirates |
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 15 | Fourth round | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 5–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| 4 | Qatar |
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 24 | −7 | 13 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | — | 3–1 | 5–1 | ||
| 5 | Kyrgyzstan |
10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −6 | 8 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 6 | North Korea |
10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 21 | −12 | 3 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea |
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 22 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Jordan |
10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 16 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | ||
| 3 | Iraq |
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 15 | Fourth round | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| 4 | Oman |
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −5 | 11 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 5 | Palestine |
10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 10 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | ||
| 6 | Kuwait |
10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 20 | −13 | 5 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan |
10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 3 | +27 | 23 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 6–0 | 7–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Australia |
10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 19 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 3 | Saudi Arabia |
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 13 | Fourth round | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| 4 | Indonesia |
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 20 | −11 | 12 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | China |
10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 20 | −13 | 9 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 6 | Bahrain |
10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 16 | −11 | 6 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — |
Fourth round
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–1 | — | |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | Fifth round | — | — | 2–1 | |
| 3 | Oman |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 | 0–0 | — | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 0–0 | — | |
| 2 | Iraq |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Fifth round | — | — | 1–0 | |
| 3 | Indonesia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 | 2–3 | — | — |
Fifth round
Inter-confederation play-offs
The winner of the fifth round, Iraq, joined Bolivia (from CONMEBOL), DR Congo (from CAF), Jamaica and Suriname (both from CONCACAF), and New Caledonia (from OFC) in the inter-confederation play-offs.
The teams were ranked according to the November 2025 FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners met 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]
| Semi-final | Final | |||||
| 31 March 2026 – Guadalupe | ||||||
| Iraq | 2 | |||||
| 26 March 2026 – Guadalupe | ||||||
 Bolivia | 1 | |||||
| Bolivia | 2 | |||||
 Suriname | 1 | |||||
Qualified teams
The following teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Third round group C winners | 20 March 2025 | 7 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022) |
| Iran | Third round group A winners | 25 March 2025 | 6 (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022) |
| Uzbekistan | Third round group A runners-up | 5 June 2025 | Debut[b] |
| South Korea | Third round group B winners | 5 June 2025 | 11 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022) |
| Jordan | Third round group B runners-up | 5 June 2025 | Debut |
| Australia | Third round group C runners-up | 10 June 2025 | 6 (1974[c], 2006[c], 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022) |
| Qatar | Fourth round group A winners | 14 October 2025 | 1 (2022) |
| Saudi Arabia | Fourth round group B winners | 14 October 2025 | 6 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022) |
| Iraq | Inter-confederation play-offs Pathway 2 winners | 31 March 2026 | 1 (1986) |
- Italics indicates hosts for that year.
- Until 1991, Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union, which competed at seven World Cup tournaments. FIFA considers Russia to be the successor team of the Soviet Union.
Top goalscorers
There were 630 goals scored in 225 matches, for an average of 2.8 goals per match.
12 goals
10 goals
9 goals
8 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
Below are full goalscorer lists for each round: