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Asian World Cup (AFC) 2026 qualifying schedule, results, table

Shikarov
Asian World Cup (AFC) 2026 qualifying schedule, results, table

Asia’s 2026 World Cup qualification will be a long journey and a challenge that will require at least several group stages.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will field eight teams directly to the 2026 World Cup, with a ninth team taking part in the inter-confederation play-offs in the hope of qualifying for the tournament.

( MORE: How will the 48-team 2026 World Cup work? )

Only Africa and Europe will place more teams in 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 whose World Cup hopes will rise and fall over the next three years – although all play for national teams favored to qualify for the tournament.

Below you’ll find the format, results and – ultimately – standings as dozens of countries try to make their World Cup dreams a reality.

Qualifying format for the 2026 Asian World Cup (AFC).

  • First round (11-17 October 2023): 20 teams, home and away matches
  • 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 from each group qualify for the World Cupthird and fourth place teams to 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 advances to interconfederation play-offs

Asian World Cup (AFC) 2026 Qualifying Schedule – Next Round Second Round Matches

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
Burma 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

North Korea 4:1 Burma
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 vs. Vietnam
United Arab Emirates vs. Bahrain
Yemen – Nepal
Saudi Arabia vs. Jordan

Asian World Cup (AFC) 2026 qualifying tables – second round groups

group A

  1. Qatar – 5-1-0 – +15 GD – 16 points
  2. Kuwait – 2-1-3 – 0 GD – 7 points
  3. India – 1-2-3 – -4 GD – 5 points
  4. Afghanistan – 1-2-3 – -11 GD – 5 points

Group B

  1. Japan – 6-0-0 – +24 GD – 18 points
  2. North Korea – 3-0-3 – +4 GD – 9 points
  3. Syria – 2-1-3 – -3 GD – 7 points
  4. Burma – 0-1-5 – -25 GD – 1 point

Group C

  1. South Korea – 5-1-0 – +19 GD – 16 points
  2. China – 2-2-2 – 0 GD – 8 points* – China ahead of Thailand on head-to-head points
  3. Thailand – 2-2-2 – 0 GD – 8 points
  4. Singapore – 0-1-5 – -19 GD – 1 point

Group D

  1. Oman – 4-1-1 – +9 GD – 13 points
  2. Kyrgyzstan – 3-2-1 – +6 GD – 11 points
  3. Malaysia – 3-1-2 – 0 GD – 10 points
  4. Chinese Taipei – 0-0-6 – -15 GD – 0 points

Group E

  1. Iran – 4-2-0 – +12 GD – 14 points
  2. Uzbekistan – 4-2-0 – +9 GD – 14 points
  3. Turkmenistan – 0-2-4 – -10 GD – 2 points
  4. Hong Kong – 0-2-4 – -11 GD – 2 points

Group F

  1. Iraq – 5-0-0 – +13 GD – 15 points
  2. Indonesia – 3-1-2 – 0 GD – 10 points
  3. Vietnam – 2-0-3 – -2 GD – 6 points
  4. Philippines – 0-1-5 – -11 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 – 2-2-2 – +4 GD – 8 points
  4. Pakistan – 0-0-6 – -25 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 – 6-0-0 – +22 GD – 18 points
  2. Palestine – 2-2-2 – 0 GD – 8 points
  3. Lebanon – 1-3-2 – -3 GD – 6 points
  4. Bangladesh – 0-1-5 – -19 GD – 1 point

Asian World Cup (AFC) qualifying schedule – 1st round fixtures, results

October 11

Afghanistan 1-0 Mongolia

Maldives 1-1 Bangladesh

Singapore 2-1 Guam

Yemen 3-0 Sri Lanka

Burma 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

17th of October

Mongolia 0-1 (0-2 in extra time) Afghanistan

Bangladesh 2-1 (3-2 overall) Maldives

Guam 0-1 (overtime 1-3) Singapore

Sri Lanka 1-1 (1-4 overall) Yemen

Macau 0-0 (1-5 on aggregate) Myanmar

Pakistan 1-0 (1-0 on aggregate) Cambodia

East Timor 0-3 (0-7 on aggregate) Chinese Taipei

Brunei 0-6 (0-12 ag) Indonesia

Bhutan 2-0 (2-4 overall) Hong Kong

Laos 0-1 (1-2 on aggregate) Nepal

Asian World Cup (AFC) 2026 Qualifying Schedule – Second Round Results

November 16

Australia 7-0 Bangladesh
Japan 5-0 Burma
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 21

Pakistan 1-6 Tajikistan
Burma 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

Burma 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 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 United Arab Emirates

Bahrain 3-0 Nepal

Kuwait 1-2 Qatar

Syria 7-0 Burma

Jordan 7-0 Tajikistan

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