2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round
International football competition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fourth round of AFC matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification were played in October 2025.[1]
Saudi Arabia
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Qatar Saudi Arabia |
| Dates | 8–14 October 2025 |
| Teams | 6 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 12 (2 per match) |
| Attendance | 150,967 (25,161 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Kevin Diks Firas Al-Buraikan(2 goals each) |
← 2022 2030 → | |
Format
The third-place and fourth-place teams from the third round were divided into two groups of three teams. Each group played a round-robin tournament at a centralized venue.[2] The winners of each group qualified directly for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while the runners-up advanced to the fifth round.[3]
On 13 June 2025, AFC confirmed Qatar and Saudi Arabia as the host countries.[4] The hosts were selected following a bidding process involving prospective teams during the third round.[5] The decision to hold the centralised playoff format in Qatar and Saudi Arabia was met with criticism from Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates over concerns of competitive advantage.[6]
Qualified teams
The following teams finished third or fourth in their respective third round groups:
Indonesia
Iraq
Oman
Qatar (hosts)
Saudi Arabia (hosts)
United Arab Emirates
Draw
The fourth round draw took place on 17 July 2025 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[7][8][9][10]
The seeding for the draw was based on a special release of the FIFA Men's World Rankings for Asian teams on 13 June 2025 (shown in parentheses below).[10]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Note: Bold indicates team qualified for the World Cup. Italics indicates the team advanced to the fifth round.
Schedule
The competition schedule was as follows:[1]
|
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
 |
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | — |
| Indonesia | 2–3 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
| Iraq | 1–0 | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Goalscorers
There were 12 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
- Kouame Autonne (against Oman)
Discipline
A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following infractions:[11]
- Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious infractions)
- Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions are carried forward to further qualification rounds, but not the finals or any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were served during the fourth round:[12]
| Team | Player | Infraction(s) | Suspended for match(es) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iraq | Ali Al-Hamadi |  vs South Korea (5 June 2025) | vs Indonesia (11 October 2025) |
| Saudi Arabia | Mohamed Kanno |   vs Indonesia (8 October 2025) | vs Iraq (14 October 2025) |
| Iraq | Zaid Tahseen | vs Indonesia (11 October 2025) | vs Saudi Arabia (14 October 2025) |