Calendar, results and qualifying table for the 2026 Asian World Cup (AFC)

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

• First round (October 11-17, 2023): 20 teams, home and away

• Second round (November 2023 – June 2024): 36 teams, nine groups, top two from each group advance

• 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

• Fourth round (starts in October 2025): Six teams, two groups, Group winners qualify for the World Cupsecond place teams to the fifth round

• 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

1. Qatar – 4-1-0 – +14 GD – 13 points

2. India – 1-2-2 – -3 GD – 5 points

3. Afghanistan — 1-2-2 — -10 GD — 5 points

4. Kuwait – 1-1-3 – -1 GD – 4 points

Group B

1. Japan – 5-0-0 – +19 GD – 15 points

2. Syria — 2-1-2 — +2 GD — 7 points

3. North Korea – 2-0-3 – +1 GD – 6 points

4. Myanmar — 0-1-4 — -22 GD — 1 point

Group C

1. South Korea – 4-1-0 – +18 GD – 13 points

2. China— 2-2-1 — +1 GD — 8 points

3. Thailand — 1-2-2 — -2 GD — 5 points

4. Singapore — 0-1-4 — -17 GD — 1 point

Group D

1. Oman – 4-0-1 – +9 GD – 12 points

2. Kyrgyzstan – 3-1-1 – +6 GD – 10 points

3. Malaysia – 2-1-2 – -2 GD – 7 points

4. Chinese Taipei — 0-0-5 — -13 GD — 0 points

Group E

1. Iran – 4-1-0 – +12 GD – 13 points

2. Uzbekistan – 4-1-0 – +9 GD – 13 points

3. Turkmenistan — 0-1-4 — -10 GD — 1 point

4. Hong Kong – 0-1-4 – -11 GD – 1 point

Group F

1. Iraq – 5-0-0 – +13 GD – 15 points

2. Indonesia – 2-1-2 – -2 GD – 7 points

3. Vietnam – 2-0-3 – -2 GD – 6 points

4. Philippines — 0-1-4 — -9 GD — 1 point

Group G

1. Saudi Arabia – 4-1-0 – +10 GD – 13 points

2. Jordan – 3-1-1 – +11 GD – 10 points

3. Tajikistan — 1-2-2 — +1 GD — 5 points

4. Pakistan — 0-0-5 — -22 GD — 0 points

Group H

1. United Arab Emirates – 5-0-0 – +14 GD – 15 points

2. Bahrain – 3-1-1 – +8 GD – 10 points

3. Yemen — 1-1-3 — -4 GD — 4 points

4. Nepal — 0-0-5 — -18 GD — 0 points

Group I

1. Australia – 5-0-0 – +17 GD – 15 points

2. Palestine — 2-2-1 — +5 GD — 8 points

3. Lebanon — 0-3-2 — -7 GD — 3 points

4. 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