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

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.

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 — Next third round fixtures

All times ET

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Australia vs China — 5:10am
Jordan vs South Korea — 10am
Uzbekistan vs Iran — 10am
Qatar vs Kyrgyzstan — Noon
Oman vs Kuwait — Noon
UAE vs North Korea — Noon
Bahrain vs Indonesia — Noon
Saudi Arabia vs Japan — 2pm
Iraq vs Palestine — 2pm

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Japan vs Australia — 6:35am
South Korea vs Iraq — 7am
China vs Indonesia — 8am
Kyrgyzstan vs North Korea — 10am
Uzbekistan vs UAE — 10am
Jordan vs Oman — Noon
Iran vs Qatar — Noon
Palestine vs Kuwait — Noon
Saudi Arabia vs Bahrain — 2pm

Asian (AFC) 2026 World Cup qualification tables — Third round groups

Group A

1. Uzbekistan – 6 points, +2 GD

2. Iran – 6 points, +2 GD

3. United Arab Emirates – 3 points, +1 GD

4. North Korea – 1 point, -1 GD

5. Qatar – 1 point, -2 GD

6. Kyrgyzstan – 0 points, -2 GD

Group B

1. Jordan – 4 points, +2 GD

2. South Korea – 4 points, +2 GD

3. Iraq – 3 points, +1 GD

4. Kuwait – 1 point, 0 GD

5. Palestine – 1 point, -2 GD

6. Oman – 0 points, -3 GD

Group C

1. Japan – 6 points, +12 GD

2. Saudi Arabia – 4 points, +1 GD

3. Bahrain – 3 points, -4 GD

4. Indonesia – 2 points, 0 GD

5. Australia – 1 point, -1 GD

6. China – 0 points, -8 GD

Asian (AFC) 2026 World Cup qualification schedule — Third round fixtures

All times ET

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 vs Iraq — 2pm

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

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. Myanmar — 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 — 6-0-0 — +15 GD — 18 points

2. Indonesia — 3-1-2 — 0 GD — 10 points

3. Vietnam — 2-0-4 — -4 GD — 6 points

4. Philippines — 0-1-5 — -11 GD — 1 point

Group G

1. Jordan — 4-1-1 — +12 GD — 13 points

2. Saudi Arabia — 4-1-1 — +9 GD — 13 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 — 5-1-0 — +14 GD — 16 points

2. Bahrain — 3-2-1 — +8 GD — 11points

3. Yemen — 1-2-3 — -4 GD — 5 points

4. Nepal — 0-1-5 — -18 GD — 1 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 (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