Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup will be a long journey, a gauntlet that will require — at a minimum — multiple group stages.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will put eight teams directly into the 2026 World Cup, with a ninth team going to the inter-confederation playoffs in hopes of making the tournament.
[ MORE: How will 48-team 2026 World Cup work? ]
Only Africa and Europe will put more teams in the 2026 World Cup.
Current Premier League players Heung-min Son (Tottenham, South Korea), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton, Japan), and Yukinari Sugawara (Southampton, Japan) and Cameron Burgess (Ipswich Town, Australia) are among those who will see their World Cup hopes rise and fall over the next three years — though all play on national teams favored to qualify for the tournament.
Japan, Iran and South Korea are all going extremely well, while Iraq, Jordan and surprise packages Uzbekistan and the UAE are also looking good. Roberto Mancini was fired as Saudi Arabia coach as they’re struggling along, with Tony Popovic’s Australia also needing to kick on in Group C.
The top two teams from each of the groups below will qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup, with the third and fourth place teams from each group going into the next round of qualifying as two more automatic spots are available.
Below you’ll find the format, scores, and — eventually — tables, as dozens of nations bid to turn their World Cup dreams into reality.
Asian (AFC) 2026 World Cup qualification format
- First round (Oct. 11-17, 2023): 20 teams, home-and-away
- Second round (Nov. 2023 - June 2024): 36 teams, nine groups, top two from each group advance
- Third round (begins Sept. 2024): 18 teams, three groups, top two from each group qualify for World Cup, third- and fourth-place teams to fourth round
- Fourth round (begins Oct. 2025): Six teams, two groups, group winners qualify for World Cup, second-place teams to fifth round
- Fifth round (November 2025): Two teams, winner goes to inter-confederation playoffs
Asian (AFC) 2026 World Cup qualification schedule — Latest third round fixtures
All times ET
Thursday, November 14
Australia 0-0 Saudi Arabia
North Korea 2-3 Iran
Bahrain 0-1 China
Kuwait 1-3 South Korea
Oman 1-0 Palestine
Iraq 0-0 Jordan
Qatar 3-2 Uzbekistan
UAE 3-0 Kyrgyzstan
Friday, November 15
Indonesia 0-4 Japan
Tuesday, November 19
China 1-3 Japan
Indonesia 2-0 Saudi Arabia
North Korea 0-1 Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan 2-3 Iran
Palestine 1-1 South Korea
Oman 0-1 Iraq
UAE 5-0 Qatar
Bahrain 2-2 Australia
Kuwait 1-1 Jordan
Asian (AFC) 2026 World Cup qualification tables — Third round groups
Group A
- Iran - 16 points, +7 GD
- Uzbekistan - 13 points, +3 GD
- United Arab Emirates - 10 points, +8 GD
- Qatar - 7 points, -7 GD
- Kyrgyzstan - 3 points, -7 GD
- North Korea - 2 points, -4 GD
Group B
- South Korea - 14 points, +7 GD
- Iraq - 11 points, +2 GD
- Jordan - 9 points, +4 GD
- Oman - 6 points, -3 GD
- Kuwait - 4 points, -6 GD
- Palestine - 3 points, -4 GD
Group C
- Japan - 16 points, +20 GD
- Australia - 7 points, +1 GD
- Indonesia - 6 points, -3 GD
- Saudi Arabia - 6 points, -3 GD
- Bahrain - 6 points, -5 GD
- China - 6 points, -10 GD
Asian (AFC) 2026 World Cup qualification schedule — Third round results
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Australia 3-1 China
Jordan 0-2 South Korea
Uzbekistan 0-0 Iran
Qatar 3-1 Kyrgyzstan
Oman 4-0 Kuwait
UAE 1-1 North Korea
Bahrain 2-2 Indonesia
Saudi Arabia 0-2 Japan
Iraq 1-0 Palestine
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Japan 1-1 Australia
South Korea 3-2 Iraq
China 2-1 Indonesia
Kyrgyzstan 1-0 North Korea
Uzbekistan 1-0 UAE
Jordan 4-0 Oman
Iran 4-1 Qatar
Palestine 2-2 Kuwait
Saudi Arabia 0-0 Bahrain
September 4, 2024
Australia 0-1 Bahrain
Japan 7-0 China
South Korea 0-0 Palestine
Uzbekistan 1-0 North Korea
Iran 1-0 Kyrgyzstan
Iraq 1-0 Oman
Qatar 1-3 UAE
Jordan 1-1 Kuwait
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Indonesia
September 10, 2024
North Korea 2-2 Qatar
Indonesia 0-0 Australia
China 1-2 Saudi Arabia
Palestine 1-3 Jordan
Kyrgyzstan 2-3 Uzbekistan
Oman 1-3 South Korea
Bahrain 0-5 Japan
UAE 0-1 Iran
Kuwait 0-0 Iraq
Asian (AFC) 2026 World Cup qualification tables — Second round results
November 16, 2023
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
UAE 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 21, 2023
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 UAE
Jordan 0-2 Saudi Arabia
Afghanistan 0-4 Kuwait
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
UAE 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
March 26, 2024
North Korea vs 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 UAE
Bahrain 3-0 Nepal
Kuwait 1-2 Qatar
Syria 7-0 Myanmar
Jordan 7-0 Tajikistan
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 UAE
China 1-1 Thailand
North Korea 1-0 Syria
June 11, 2024
North Korea 4-1 Myanmar
Turkmenistan 0-0 Hong Kong
Oman 1-1 Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan 3-0 Pakistan
Australia 5-0 Palestine
Thailand 3-1 Singapore
Qatar 2-1 India
Lebanon 4-0 Bangladesh
Malaysia 3-1 Chinese Taipei
Indonesia 2-0 Philippines
Japan 5-0 Syria
South Korea 1-0 China
Kuwait 1-0 Afghanistan
Iran 0-0 Uzbekistan
Iraq 3-1 Vietnam
UAE 1-1 Bahrain
Yemen 2-2 Nepal
Saudi Arabia 1-2 Jordan
Asian (AFC) 2026 World Cup qualification tables — Second round groups
Group A
- Qatar — 5-1-0 — +15 GD — 16 points
- Kuwait — 2-1-3 — 0 GD — 7 points
- India — 1-2-3 — -4 GD — 5 points
- Afghanistan — 1-2-3 — -11 GD — 5 points
Group B
- Japan — 6-0-0 — +24 GD — 18 points
- North Korea — 3-0-3 — +4 GD — 9 points
- Syria — 2-1-3 — -3 GD — 7 points
- Myanmar — 0-1-5 — -25 GD — 1 point
Group C
- South Korea — 5-1-0 — +19 GD — 16 points
- China— 2-2-2 — 0 GD — 8 points* - China ahead of Thailand on head-to-head points
- Thailand — 2-2-2 — 0 GD — 8 points
- Singapore — 0-1-5 — -19 GD — 1 point
Group D
- Oman — 4-1-1 — +9 GD — 13 points
- Kyrgyzstan — 3-2-1 — +6 GD — 11 points
- Malaysia — 3-1-2 — 0 GD — 10 points
- Chinese Taipei — 0-0-6 — -15 GD — 0 points
Group E
- Iran — 4-2-0 — +12 GD — 14 points
- Uzbekistan — 4-2-0 — +9 GD — 14 points
- Turkmenistan — 0-2-4 — -10 GD — 2 points
- Hong Kong — 0-2-4 — -11 GD — 2 points
Group F
- Iraq — 6-0-0 — +15 GD — 18 points
- Indonesia — 3-1-2 — 0 GD — 10 points
- Vietnam — 2-0-4 — -4 GD — 6 points
- Philippines — 0-1-5 — -11 GD — 1 point
Group G
- Jordan — 4-1-1 — +12 GD — 13 points
- Saudi Arabia — 4-1-1 — +9 GD — 13 points
- Tajikistan — 2-2-2— +4 GD — 8 points
- Pakistan — 0-0-6 — -25 GD — 0 points
Group H
- United Arab Emirates — 5-1-0 — +14 GD — 16 points
- Bahrain — 3-2-1 — +8 GD — 11points
- Yemen — 1-2-3 — -4 GD — 5 points
- Nepal — 0-1-5 — -18 GD — 1 points
Group I
- Australia — 6-0-0 — +22 GD — 18 points
- Palestine — 2-2-2 — 0 GD — 8 points
- Lebanon — 1-3-2 — -3 GD — 6 points
- Bangladesh — 0-1-5 — -19 GD — 1 point
Asian (AFC) World Cup qualification schedule — First round fixtures, results
October 11, 2023
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 Timor-Leste
Indonesia 6-0 Brunei
Hong Kong 4-0 Bhutan
Nepal 1-1 Laos
October 17, 2023
Mongolia 0-1 (0-2 agg) Afghanistan
Bangladesh 2-1 (3-2 agg) Maldives
Guam 0-1 (1-3 agg) Singapore
Sri Lanka 1-1 (1-4 agg) Yemen
Macau 0-0 (1-5 agg) Myanmar
Pakistan 1-0 (1-0 agg) Cambodia
Timor-Leste 0-3 (0-7 agg) Chinese Taipei
Brunei 0-6 (0-12 agg) Indonesia
Bhutan 2-0 (2-4 agg) Hong Kong
Laos 0-1 (1-2 agg) Nepal
