90min

2026 World Cup qualifying - AFC: Fixtures, results, table & how it works

  • Japan, Australia, Iran and South Korea among favourites to qualify
  • 18 nations from Asia are now competing to make it to the 2026 World Cup
  • The round three group stage is now underway

By Euan Burns

Japan are regarded as the best team in Asia
Japan are regarded as the best team in Asia / Masashi Hara/GettyImages
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It may still feel like the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has only just finished but the process of qualifying for the biggest tournament in football starts incredibly early all over the world.

FIFA World Cup qualification is split into federations, meaning countries play other nations from the same continent to reach football's showpiece event. The Asian Football Confederation contains some great teams who often cause pleasant surprises at World Cups.

With the AFC World Cup qualification process having got underway in October, here's how it all works and what you can expect in Asia in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

2026 World Cup AFC qualifying - Quick Links

  1. How does AFC World Cup qualification work?
  2. AFC 2026 World Cup qualifying first round results
  3. AFC 2026 World Cup second round qualification groups
  4. AFC 2026 World Cup third round qualification groups
  5. AFC 2026 World Cup third round fixtures & results

How does AFC World Cup qualification work?

World Cup qualification differs in each federation. There are limits on how many teams from each continent can take part in a tournament, as well as the number of entrants in the first place.

A new, revamped format for the 2026 World Cup was announced in August 2022, taking into account the increased allocation of eight direct qualifiers and one play-off qualifier for the finals.

All of the 46 partaking AFC nations are ranked according to their FIFA ranking, so Japan are first (20th in the world) and Sri Lanka 46th (204th in the world).

First round

The first round is contested by the teams ranked 27-46 who play two-legged ties home and away. The ten tie winners go into the next round.

Second round

The second round has 36 teams; the remaining teams ranked 1-26 and the ten winners from the first round. They are divided into nine groups of four, playing each other home and away.

The nine group winners and nine runners-up advance to the third round and qualify for the AFC Asian Cup in the process.

Third round

18 teams are divided into three groups of six, playing each other home and away with the top two of each group qualifying directly for the World Cup. The third and fourth-placed teams go into the fourth round.

Fourth round

Those six teams are split into two groups of three, playing each other once at a neutral venue. The two group winners qualify for the World Cup and the two runners-up go into the fifth round.

Fifth round

These two teams compete home and away over two legs to decide which team is the Asian representative at the inter-confederation play-offs.

AFC 2026 World Cup qualifying first round results

Here are the aggregate scores from the first round of AFC World Cup qualifying:

  • Afghanistan (32) 2-0 Mongolia (38)
  • Maldives (30) 2-3 Bangladesh (41)
  • Singapore (33) 3-1 Guam (45)
  • Yemen (31) 4-1 Sri Lanka (46)
  • Myanmar (34) 5-1 Macau (37)
  • Cambodia (36) 0-1 Pakistan (44)
  • Taiwan (29) 7-1 Timor-Leste (43)
  • Indonesia (28) 12-0 Brunei (42)
  • Hong Kong (27) 4-2 Bhutan (39)
  • Nepal (35) 2-1 Laos (40)

*the number in brackets denotes FIFA world ranking

AFC 2026 World Cup second round qualification groups

Group A

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Qatar

6

5

1

0

+15

18:3

16

2

Kuwait

6

2

1

3

0

6:6

7

3

India

6

1

2

3

-4

3:7

5

4

Afghanistan

6

1

2

3

-11

3:14

5

Group B

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Japan

6

6

0

0

+24

24:0

18

2

North Korea

6

3

0

3

+4

11:7

9

3

Syria

6

2

1

3

-3

9:12

7

4

Myanmar

6

0

1

5

-25

3:28

1

Group C

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

South Korea

6

5

1

0

+19

20:1

16

2

China

6

2

2

2

0

9:9

8

3

Thailand

6

2

2

2

0

9:9

8

4

Singapore

6

0

1

5

-19

5:24

1

Group D

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Oman

6

4

1

1

+9

11:2

13

2

Kyrgyzstan

6

3

2

1

+6

13:7

11

3

Malaysia

6

3

1

2

0

9:9

10

4

Chinese Tapei

6

0

0

6

-15

2:17

0

Group E

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Iran

6

4

2

0

+12

16:4

14

2

Uzbekistan

6

4

2

0

+9

13:4

14

3

Turkmenistan

6

0

2

4

-10

4:14

2

4

Hong Kong

6

0

2

4

-11

4:15

2

Group F

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Iraq

6

6

0

0

+15

17:2

18

2

Indonesia

6

3

1

2

0

8:8

10

3

Vietnam

6

2

0

4

-4

6:10

6

4

Philippines

6

0

1

5

-11

3:14

1

Group G

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Jordan

6

4

1

1

+12

16:4

13

2

Saudi Arabia

6

4

1

1

+9

12:3

13

3

Tajikistan

6

2

2

2

+4

11:7

8

4

Pakistan

6

0

0

6

-25

1:26

0

Group H

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

United Arab Emirates

6

5

1

0

+14

16:2

16

2

Bahrain

6

3

2

1

+8

11:3

11

3

Yemen

6

1

2

3

-4

5:9

5

4

Nepal

6

0

1

5

-18

2:20

1

Group I

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Australia

6

6

0

0

+22

22:0

19

2

Palestine

6

2

2

2

0

6:6

8

3

Lebanon

6

1

3

2

-3

5:8

6

4

Bangladesh

6

0

1

5

-19

1:20

1

AFC 2026 World Cup third round qualification groups

Group A

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Uzbekistan

2

2

0

0

+2

4:2

6

2

Iran

2

2

0

0

+2

2:0

6

3

United Arab Emirates

2

1

0

1

+1

3:2

3

4

North Korea

2

0

1

1

-1

2:3

1

5

Qatar

2

0

1

1

-2

3:5

1

6

Kyrgyzstan

2

0

0

1

-2

2:3

0

Group B

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Jordan

2

1

1

0

+2

4:2

4

2

South Korea

2

1

1

0

+2

3:1

4

3

Iraq

2

1

1

0

+1

1:0

4

4

Kuwait

2

0

2

0

0

1:1

2

5

Palestine

2

0

1

1

-2

1:3

1

6

Oman

2

0

0

2

-3

1:4

0

Group C

Pos.

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Pts

1

Japan

2

2

0

0

+12

12:0

6

2

Saudi Arabia

2

1

1

0

+1

3:2

4

3

Bahrain

2

1

0

1

-4

1:5

3

4

Indonesia

2

0

2

0

0

1:1

2

5

Australia

2

0

1

1

-1

0:1

1

6

China

2

0

0

2

-8

1:9

0

AFC 2026 World Cup third round fixtures & results

Matchday 1

Date

Group

Result

05/09/24

A

Iran 1-0 Kyrgyzstan

05/09/24

A

Uzbekistan 1-0 North Korea

05/09/24

A

Qatar 1-3 United Arab Emirates

05/09/24

B

Iraq 1-0 Oman

05/09/24

B

South Korea 0-0 Palestine

05/09/24

B

Jordan 1-1 Kuwait

05/09/24

C

Japan 7-0 China

05/09/24

C

Saudi Arabia 1-1 Indonesia

05/09/24

C

Australia 0-1 Bahrain

Matchday 2

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

10/09/24

13:00

A

North Korea 2-2 Qatar

10/09/24

13:00

C

Indonesia 0-0 Australia

10/09/24

13:00

C

China 1-2 Saudi Arabia

10/09/24

15:00

B

Palestine 1-3 Jordan

10/09/24

15:00

A

Kyrgyzstan 2-3 Uzbekistan

10/09/24

15:00

B

Oman 1-3 South Korea

10/09/24

17:00

C

Bahrain 0-5 Japan

10/09/24

17:00

A

United Arab Emirates 0-1 Iran

10/09/24

19:00

B

Kuwait 0-0 Iraq

Matchday 3

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

10/10/24

10:10

C

Australia vs China

10/10/24

15:00

B

Jordan vs South Korea

10/10/24

15:00

A

Uzbekistan vs Iran

10/10/24

17:00

A

Qatar vs Kyrgyzstan

10/10/24

17:00

B

Oman vs Kuwait

10/10/24

17:00

A

United Arab Emirates vs North Korea

10/10/24

17:00

C

Bahrain vs Indonesia

10/10/24

19:00

C

Saudi Arabia vs Japan

10/10/24

19:00

B

Iraq vs Palestine

Matchday 4

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

15/10/24

11:35

C

Japan vs Australia

15/10/24

12:00

B

South Korea vs Iraq

15/10/24

13:00

C

China vs Indonesia

15/10/24

TBD

B

Palestine vs Kuwait

15/10/24

15:00

A

Kyrgyzstan vs North Korea

15/10/24

15:00

A

Uzbekistan vs United Arab Emirates

15/10/24

17:00

B

Jordan vs Oman

15/10/24

17:00

A

Iran vs Qatar

15/10/24

19:00

C

Saudi Arabia vs Bahrain

Matchday 5

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

14/11/24

TBD

A

United Arab Emirates vs Kyrgyzstan

14/11/24

TBD

A

Qatar vs Uzbekistan

14/11/24

TBD

A

North Korea vs Iran

14/11/24

TBD

B

Iraq vs Jordan

14/11/24

TBD

B

Kuwait vs South Korea

14/11/24

TBD

B

Oman vs Palestine

14/11/24

TBD

C

Bahrain vs China

14/11/24

TBD

C

Australia vs Saudi Arabia

14/11/24

TBD

C

Indonesia vs Japan

Matchday 6

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

19/11/24

TBD

A

United Arab Emirates vs Qatar

19/11/24

TBD

A

North Korea vs Uzbekistan

19/11/24

TBD

A

Kyrgyzstan vs Iran

19/11/24

TBD

B

Kuwait vs Jordan

19/11/24

TBD

B

Palestine vs South Korea

19/11/24

TBD

B

Oman vs Iraq

19/11/24

TBD

C

Bahrain vs Australia

19/11/24

TBD

C

Indonesia vs Saudi Arabia

19/11/24

TBD

C

China vs Japan

Matchday 7

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

20/03/25

TBD

A

Iran vs United Arab Emirates

20/03/25

TBD

A

Uzbekistan vs Kyrgyzstan

20/03/25

TBD

A

Qatar vs North Korea

20/03/25

TBD

B

Iraq vs Kuwait

20/03/25

TBD

B

Jordan vs Palestine

20/03/25

TBD

B

South Korea vs Oman

20/03/25

TBD

C

Japan vs Bahrain

20/03/25

TBD

C

Saudi Arabia vs China

20/03/25

TBD

C

Australia vs Indonesia

Matchday 8

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

25/03/25

TBD

A

Iran vs Uzbekistan

25/03/25

TBD

A

Kyrgyzstan vs Qatar

25/03/25

TBD

A

North Korea vs United Arab Emirates

25/03/25

TBD

B

Kuwait vs Oman

25/03/25

TBD

B

South Korea vs Jordan

25/03/25

TBD

B

Palestine vs Iraq

25/03/25

TBD

C

Japan vs Saudi Arabia

25/03/25

TBD

C

Indonesia vs Bahrain

25/03/25

TBD

C

China vs Australia

Matchday 9

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

05/06/24

TBD

A

United Arab Emirates vs Uzbekistan

05/06/24

TBD

A

Qatar vs Iran

05/06/24

TBD

A

North Korea vs Kyrgyzstan

05/06/24

TBD

B

Iraq vs South Korea

05/06/24

TBD

B

Kuwait vs Palestine

05/06/24

TBD

B

Oman vs Jordan

05/06/24

TBD

C

Bahrain vs Saudi Arabia

05/06/24

TBD

C

Indonesia vs China

05/06/24

TBD

C

Australia vs Japan

Matchday 10

Date

Kick-off Time (GMT)

Group

Fixture

10/06/24

TBD

A

Iran vs North Korea

10/06/24

TBD

A

Uzbekistan vs Qatar

10/06/24

TBD

A

Kyrgyzstan vs United Arab Emirates

10/06/24

TBD

B

Jordan vs Iraq

10/06/24

TBD

B

South Korea vs Kuwait

10/06/24

TBD

B

Palestine vs Oman

10/06/24

TBD

C

Japan vs Indonesia

10/06/24

TBD

C

Saudi Arabia vs Australia

10/06/24

TBD

C

China vs Bahrain

READ MORE ON THE STATE OF 2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION AROUND THE GLOBE

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