2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round
International football competition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The third round[note 1] of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification is played from 25 March 2025 to 4 June 2026.[1]
Dates25 March 2025 – 4 June 2026
Teams24 (from 1 confederation)
Matchesplayed71
Goals scored213 (3 per match)
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 25 March 2025 – 4 June 2026 |
| Teams | 24 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 71 |
| Goals scored | 213 (3 per match) |
| Attendance | 720,897 (10,153 per match) |
| Top scorer |  Nasser Al-Gahwashi (10 goals) |
← 2023 2031 →
All statistics correct as of 31 March 2026. | |
Format
A total of 24 teams (3 best ranked losing teams from the first round + 18 third and fourth-placed teams from the second round + 3 winners from the play-off round) will participate in the third round to compete for the final six slots in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.[2]
The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. Only the group winners of each group will qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, where they will join the 18 teams which qualified directly from the second round.[3]
Qualified teams
Best-ranked losing teams from the first round:
Teams finishing third or fourth in their respective second round groups:
Play-off round winners:
Seeding
The draw was held on 9 December 2024 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,[8] at 15:00 (UTC+8). The teams were drawn into six groups of four teams each, with the seeding based on the November 2024 FIFA World Rankings.
The national teams which qualified are presented in bold.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Schedule
Rules
The winner of each group will qualify for the final tournament, joining the 18 teams that qualified directly (including the host).
- Tiebreakers
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers will be applied in the following order (Regulations Article 7.3):[12]
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- If more than two teams are tied, and after applying criteria 1 to 3, a subset of teams is still tied, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they meet in the last round of the group;
- Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
- Drawing of lots.
Groups
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tajikistan |
6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 3 | +11 | 14 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | Philippines |
6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 14 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | |||
| 3 | Maldives |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | |||
| 4 | Timor-Leste |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 15 | −11 | 3 | 0–5 | 1–4 | 1–0 |
| Philippines | 4–1 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Territory Rugby League Stadium, Darwin (Australia)[note 3]
Attendance: 1,048
Referee: Songkran Bunmeekiart (Thailand)
| Philippines | 2–2 | Tajikistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Timor-Leste | 1–4 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
Freitas  46' |
Report Report (AFC) |
Kristensen 15', 31', 49', 56' |
Territory Rugby League Stadium, Darwin (Australia)[note 3]
Attendance: 1,356
Referee: Yudi Nurcahya (Indonesia)
| Tajikistan | 2–0 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
| Philippines | 3–1 | Timor-Leste |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Maldives | 0–3 | Tajikistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Timor-Leste | 0–5 | Tajikistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
Territory Rugby League Stadium, Darwin (Australia)[note 3]
Attendance: 538
Referee: Adam Kersey (Australia)
| Maldives | 0–2 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Maldives | 2–1 | Timor-Leste |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Tajikistan | 1–1 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Group B
Updated to match(es) played on 31 March 2026. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated
Attendance: 282
Referee: Venkatesh Ramachandran (India)
Brunei  | 2–1 |  Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Attendance: 3,158
Referee: Mongkolchai Pechsri (Thailand)
Attendance: 1,512
Referee: Mahmood Al-Majarafi (Oman)
| Brunei | 0–2 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
Attendance: 1,529
Referee: Ngô Duy Lân (Vietnam)
| Yemen | 9–0 | Brunei |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 755
Referee: Meder Tayçiev (Kyrgyzstan)
| Yemen | 7–1 | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Farwaniya (Kuwait)[note 5]
Attendance: 350
Referee: Tam Ping Wun (Hong Kong)
Attendance: 549
Referee: Venkatesh Ramachandran (India)
Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, (Qatar)[note 4]
Group C
Bangladesh  | 1–2 |  Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Rakib 67' |
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Hong Kong  | 1–1 | Bangladesh |
|---|---|---|
| Orr 36' (pen.) |
Report Report (AFC) |
Rakib 84' |
India  | 1–2 | Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Chhangte 14' |
Report Report (AFC) |
Song Ui-young 44', 58' |
| Bangladesh | 1–0 | India |
|---|---|---|
| Morsalin 11' |
Report Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 22,690
Referee: Songkran Bunmeekiart (Thailand)
Group D
Chinese Taipei  | 1–2 |  Turkmenistan |
|---|---|---|
| Kouamé 63' |
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Sri Lanka  | 3–1 | Chinese Taipei |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Turkmenistan | 3–1 |  Thailand |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Chinese Taipei | 1–6 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Turkmenistan | 2–1 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Sri Lanka | 0–4 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
Attendance: 2,910
Referee: Sultan Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
| Turkmenistan | 3–1 | Chinese Taipei |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Chinese Taipei | 1–3 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Group E
Myanmar  | 2–1 |  Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium, Hofuf (Saudi Arabia)[note 8]
Attendance: 1,217
Referee: Sivakorn Pu-Udom (Thailand)
Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium, Hofuf (Saudi Arabia)[note 9]
Attendance: 532
Referee: Yousif Saeed Hasan (Iraq)
Syria  | 5–1 | Myanmar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium, Hofuf (Saudi Arabia)[note 8]
Attendance: 198
Referee: Mohammad Mofeed (Jordan)
| Myanmar | 0–3 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Afghanistan | 1–1 |  Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Farwaniya (Kuwait)[note 9]
Attendance: 750
Referee: Abdullo Davlatov (Tajikistan)
| Afghanistan | 1–2 | Myanmar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Pakistan | 1–2 | Myanmar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Syria | 5–1 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)[note 8]
Attendance: 562
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Group F
- On 26 September 2025, FIFA sanctioned the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven players for using falsified eligibility documents. These players played in the match against Nepal and Vietnam.[19] On 5 March, CAS dismissed FAM's appeal on the falsified documents case.[20][21] On 17 March 2026, the AFC overturned Malaysia's wins against Nepal (on 25 March 2025) and Vietnam (on 10 June 2025) to 0–3 defeats.[22]
Vietnam  | 5–0 |  Laos |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
Attendance: 11,068
Referee: Yahya Al-Mulla (United Arab Emirates)
Malaysia  | 0–3 Awarded[note 12] |  Nepal |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
| Malaysia | 0–3 Awarded[note 13] | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
| Vietnam | 3–1 | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Nepal | 0–1 | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)[note 15]
Attendance: 6,870
Referee: Mohamed Khaled (Bahrain)
Attendance: 18,901
Referee: Ahmed Eisa Darwish (United Arab Emirates)
| Nepal | 0–1 | Malaysia |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)[note 15]
Attendance: 14,243
Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)
| Laos | 0–2 | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
| Vietnam | 3–1 | Malaysia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (AFC) |
| Nepal | 0–1 | Laos |
|---|---|---|
| Report Report (AFC) |
|
Attendance: 2,327
Referee: Ahmad A'Qashah (Singapore)
Goalscorers
There have been 213 goals scored in 71 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match (as of 31 March 2026). Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.
10 goals
8 goals
6 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
Omid Popalzay
Rakib Hossain- Shekh Morsalin
Chencho Gyeltshen
Ange Kouamé
Everton Camargo- Matt Orr
Husseyn Chakroun- Samy Merheg
Dion Cools- La'Vere Corbin-Ong
- Romel Morales
Ali Fasir
Sandro Reyes
Mohammad Al Mustafa- Omar Al Somah
- Pablo Sabbag
- Yassin Samia
Sheriddin Boboev
Seksan Ratree- Jude Soonsup-Bell
Mekan Saparow
Omar Al-Dahi
1 goal
- Mahboob Hanifi
- Ali Reza Panahi
- Hamza Choudhury
- Shamit Shome
- Dawa Kuenjung Tshering
- Kinga Wangchuk
Hakeme Yazid Said- Nazirrudin Ismail
- Huang Wei-chieh
- Kuo Po-wei
- Yu Yao-hsing
- Stefan Pereira
Rahim Ali- Lallianzuala Chhangte
- Akash Mishra
- Ryan Williams
Bounphachan Bounkong- Chanthavixay Khounthoumphone
- Peter Phanthavong
- Damoth Thongkhamsavath
- Jihad Ayoub
- Omar Bugiel
- Zein Farran
- Mohamad Haidar
- Mohamad Safwan
- Walid Shour
- Arif Aiman
- Endrick
- João Figueiredo
- Hector Hevel
- Rodrigo Holgado
- Paulo Josué
- Mohamed Irufaan
Khun Kyaw Zin Hein- Maung Maung Lwin
- Nanda Kyaw
Manish Dangi- Sanish Shrestha
Shayak Dost- Etzaz Hussain
- Jarvey Gayoso
- Raphael Obermair
- Randy Schneider
Shawal Anuar- Harhys Stewart
Dillon De Silva- Leon Perera
- Adhavan Rajamohan
- Ahmed Waseem Razeek
- Niloshan Senthurvasan
- Rahul Suresh
- Mahmoud Al Aswad
- Alaa Al Dali
- Ahmad Faqa
- Vahdat Hanonov
- Ehson Panjshanbe
- Mukhammadzhon Rakhimov
- Manuchekhr Safarov
- Shahrom Samiev
- Parvizdzhon Umarbayev
- Manuel Bihr
- Chanathip Songkrasin
- Patrik Gustavsson
- Pansa Hemviboon
- Supachai Chaided
- Supachok Sarachat
- Suphanan Bureerat
- Thanawat Suengchitthawon
Alexandro Bakhito- Gali Freitas
- João Pedro
- João Rangel
- Teýmur Çaryýew
- Meýlis Diniýew
- Ýazgylyç Gurbanow
- Rahman Myratberdiýew
- Yhlas Saparmämmedow
- Mihail Titow
Châu Ngọc Quang- Đỗ Duy Mạnh
- Nguyễn Hai Long
- Nguyễn Quang Hải
- Nguyễn Tiến Linh
- Phạm Tuấn Hải
- Phạm Xuân Mạnh
- Omar Al-Golan
- Abdulwasea Al-Matari
- Harwan Al-Zubaidi
- Abdulaziz Masnom
- Adel Qasem
- Abdul Sabara
1 own goal
- Karma Chetrim (against Brunei)
- Christopher Tiao (against Sri Lanka)
- Huang Tzu-ming (against Thailand)
- Khammanh Thapaseuth (against Malaysia)
- Suman Shrestha (against Vietnam)
- Saqib Hanif (against Myanmar)
- Güýçmyrat Annagulyýew (against Sri Lanka)
Notes
- Referred to as the final round
- FIFA suspended Pakistan from all football activities on 6 February 2025 due to failing to adopt a version of the PFF constitution that had been approved by FIFA and AFC.[4][5] The PFF voted to approve the constitutional changes on 27 February 2025, and the suspension was lifted on 2 March 2025.[6][7]
- Lebanon are required to play all their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Hezbollah–Israel conflict.
- Yemen are required to play their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Yemeni civil war.
- Neutral venue
- Originally scheduled for 31 March 2026, the match was rescheduled for 4 June 2026 due to the 2026 Lebanon war.[16]
- Syria played their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Syrian conflict.
- Afghanistan played their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Afghan conflict.
- Afghanistan planned to play their home match against Myanmar in Bangladesh on 18 November 2025, but Myanmar refused to play in Bangladesh.[17] The AFC determined to postpone the match to 26 March 2026.[18]
- Thủ Dầu Một was incorporated to Ho Chi Minh City in 1 July 2025.
- On 26 September 2025, FIFA sanctioned the Football Association of Malaysia and seven players for using falsified eligibility documents.[19] One player, Hector Hevel played in the match against Nepal. On 5 March 2026, the CAS confirmed the penalties for which AFC overturned the game as a 3–0 victory for Nepal on 17 March 2026.[22]
- On 26 September 2025, FIFA sanctioned the Football Association of Malaysia and seven players for using falsified eligibility documents.[19] All seven players played in the match against Vietnam. On 5 March 2026, the CAS confirmed the penalties for which AFC overturned the game as a 3–0 victory for Vietnam on 17 March 2026.[22]
- Match time was previously 19:30, but due to rain in Ho Chi Minh City, it was delayed for 30 minutes