Asian qualification for the 2026 World Cup will be a long journey, a challenge that will require – at the very least – several group stages.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will place eight teams directly into the 2026 World Cup, with a ninth team heading to the inter-confederation playoffs in hopes of reaching the tournament.
[ MORE: How will 48-team 2026 World Cup work? ]
Only Africa and Europe will field more teams at the 2026 World Cup.
Current Premier League players Heung-min Son (Spurs, South Korea), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton, Japan) and Saman Ghoddos (Brentford, Iran) are among those who will see their World Cup hopes rise and fall over the next three years – although they all play on national teams favored to qualify for the tournament.
Below you’ll find the format, scores and – eventually – tables, as dozens of nations try to turn their World Cup dreams into reality.
2026 Asian World Cup (AFC) Qualification Format
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First round (October 11-17, 2023): 20 teams, home and away
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Second round (November 2023 – June 2024): 36 teams, nine groups, top two from each group advance
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Third round (starts September 2024): 18 teams, three groups, the top two in each group qualify for the World Cupthird and fourth placed teams for the fourth round
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Fourth round (starts in October 2025): Six teams, two groups, Group winners qualify for the World Cupsecond place teams to the fifth round
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Fifth round (November 2025): Two teams, winner goes to inter-confederal playoffs
2026 Asian World Cup (AFC) qualification schedule – Upcoming second round games
June 6, 2024
Hong Kong 2-4 Iran
Jordan 3-0 Tajikistan
Chinese Taipei 0-3 Oman
Afghanistan 0-0 Qatar
Palestine 0-0 Lebanon
Bahrain 0-0 Yemen
Uzbekistan 3-1 Turkmenistan
Pakistan 0-3 Saudi Arabia
Kyrgyzstan 1-1 Malaysia
Indonesia 0-2 Iraq
Vietnam 3-2 Philippines
Singapore 0-7 South Korea
Bangladesh 0-2 Australia
Myanmar 0-5 Japan
India 0-0 Kuwait
Nepal 0-4 United Arab Emirates
China 1-1 Thailand
North Korea 1-0 Syria
June 11, 2024
Iran x Uzbekistan
Saudi Arabia vs Jordan
North Korea vs Myanmar
Turkmenistan vs Hong Kong
Yemen x Nepal
Oman vs Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan vs Pakistan
Australia vs Palestine
UAE vs Bahrain
Thailand x Singapore
Qatar x India
Lebanon vs Bangladesh
Malaysia vs Chinese Taipei
Indonesia x Philippines
Japan vs Syria
Iraq vs Vietnam
South Korea vs China
Kuwait x Afghanistan
2026 Asian World Cup (AFC) Qualification Tables – Second Phase Groups
A group
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Qatar – 4-1-0 – +14 GD – 13 points
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India – 1-2-2 – -3 GD – 5 points
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Afghanistan — 1-2-2 — -10 GD — 5 points
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Kuwait – 1-1-3 – -1 GD – 4 points
Group B
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Japan – 5-0-0 – +19 GD – 15 points
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Syria — 2-1-2 — +2 GD — 7 points
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North Korea – 2-0-3 – +1 GD – 6 points
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Myanmar — 0-1-4 — -22 GD — 1 point
Group C
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South Korea – 4-1-0 – +18 GD – 13 points
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China— 2-2-1 — +1 GD — 8 points
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Thailand — 1-2-2 — -2 GD — 5 points
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Singapore — 0-1-4 — -17 GD — 1 point
Group D
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Oman – 4-0-1 – +9 GD – 12 points
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Kyrgyzstan – 3-1-1 – +6 GD – 10 points
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Malaysia – 2-1-2 – -2 GD – 7 points
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Chinese Taipei — 0-0-5 — -13 GD — 0 points
Group E
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Iran – 4-1-0 – +12 GD – 13 points
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Uzbekistan – 4-1-0 – +9 GD – 13 points
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Turkmenistan — 0-1-4 — -10 GD — 1 point
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Hong Kong – 0-1-4 – -11 GD – 1 point
Group F
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Iraq – 5-0-0 – +13 GD – 15 points
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Indonesia – 2-1-2 – -2 GD – 7 points
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Vietnam – 2-0-3 – -2 GD – 6 points
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Philippines — 0-1-4 — -9 GD — 1 point
Group G
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Saudi Arabia – 4-1-0 – +10 GD – 13 points
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Jordan – 3-1-1 – +11 GD – 10 points
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Tajikistan — 1-2-2 — +1 GD — 5 points
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Pakistan — 0-0-5 — -22 GD — 0 points
Group H
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United Arab Emirates – 5-0-0 – +14 GD – 15 points
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Bahrain – 3-1-1 – +8 GD – 10 points
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Yemen — 1-1-3 — -4 GD — 4 points
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Nepal — 0-0-5 — -18 GD — 0 points
Group I
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Australia – 5-0-0 – +17 GD – 15 points
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Palestine — 2-2-1 — +5 GD — 8 points
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Lebanon — 0-3-2 — -7 GD — 3 points
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Bangladesh — 0-1-4 — -15 GD — 1 point
Asian World Cup (AFC) Qualification Schedule – First Round Games, Results
October 11th
Afghanistan 1-0 Mongolia
Maldives 1-1 Bangladesh
Singapore 2-1 Guam
Yemen 3-0 Sri Lanka
Myanmar 5-1 Macau
Cambodia 0-0 Pakistan
Chinese Taipei 4-0 East Timor
Indonesia 6-0 Brunei
Hong Kong 4-0 Bhutan
Nepal 1-1 Laos
October 17th
Mongolia 0-1 (0-2 agg) Afghanistan
Bangladesh 2-1 (3-2 agg) Maldives
Guam 0-1 (1-3 overall) Singapore
Sri Lanka 1-1 (1-4 agg) Yemen
Macau 0-0 (1-5 overall) Myanmar
Pakistan 1-0 (1-0 agg) Cambodia
East Timor 0-3 (0-7 overall) Chinese Taipei
Brunei 0-6 (0-12 overall) Indonesia
Bhutan 2-0 (2-4 agg) Hong Kong
Laos 0-1 (1-2 agg) Nepal
Asian World Cup (AFC) 2026 Qualification Schedule – Second Round Results
November 16
Australia 7-0 Bangladesh
Japan 5-0 Myanmar
South Korea 5-0 Singapore
Philippines 0-2 Vietnam
Thailand 1-2 China
Malaysia 4-3 Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan 1-1 Jordan
Turkmenistan 1-3 Uzbekistan
Lebanon 0-0 Palestine
Iran 4-0 Hong Kong
Iraq 5-1 Indonesia
Oman 3-0 Chinese Taipei
United Arab Emirates 4-0 Nepal
Qatar 8-1 Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia 4-0 Pakistan
Kuwait 0-1 India
Syria 1-0 North Korea
Yemen 0-2 Bahrain
November 21st
Pakistan 1-6 Tajikistan
Myanmar 1-6 North Korea
Philippines 1-1 Indonesia
Chinese Taipei 0-1 Malaysia
Bangladesh 1-1 Lebanon
Singapore 1-3 Thailand
Vietnam 0-1 Iraq
China 0-3 South Korea
Hong Kong 2-2 Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan 2-2 Iran
Nepal 0-2 Yemen
India 0-3 Qatar
Palestine 0-1 Australia
Kyrgyzstan 1-0 Oman
Syria 0-5 Japan
Bahrain 0-2 United Arab Emirates
Jordan 0-2 Saudi Arabia
Afghanistan 0-4 Kuwait
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Pakistan 0-3 Jordan
Australia 2-0 Lebanon
Chinese Taipei 0-2 Kyrgyzstan
Japan 1-0 North Korea
South Korea 1-1 Thailand
Myanmar 1-1 Syria
Hong Kong 0-2 Uzbekistan
Singapore 2-2 China
Indonesia 1-0 Vietnam
Iran 5-0 Turkmenistan
Oman 2-0 Malaysia
United Arab Emirates 2-1 Yemen
Qatar 3-0 Kuwait
Palestine 5-0 Bangladesh
Iraq 1-0 Philippines
Nepal 0-5 Bahrain
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Tajikistan
Afghanistan 0-0 India
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
North Korea x Japan – Postponed
Lebanon 0-5 Australia
Bangladesh 0-1 Palestine
Philippines 0-5 Iraq
China 4-1 Singapore
Vietnam 0-3 Indonesia
Thailand 0-3 South Korea
India 1-2 Afghanistan
Kyrgyzstan 5-1 Chinese Taipei
Malaysia 0-2 Oman
Uzbekistan 3-0 Hong Kong
Turkmenistan 0-1 Iran
Tajikistan 1-1 Saudi Arabia
Bangladesh 0-1 Palestine
Yemen 0-3 United Arab Emirates
Bahrain 3-0 Nepal
Kuwait 1-2 Qatar
Syria 7-0 Myanmar
Jordan 7-0 Tajikistan