World cup 2026 qualifying groups Everything you need to know?
There are many qualifying rounds and groups in the AFC. From the year between 2023-2025. In this article you will get to know which team qualified for the AFC. 46 countries will compete against each other for 8-9 tickets to the World Cup. World Cup 2026 qualifying groups fight for the 2026 title in North America. In alphabetical order :
- Afghanistan
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- Bahrain
- Bhutan
- Brunei Darussalam
- Cambodia
- China PR
- Guam
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia
- India
- IR Iran
- Iraq
- Jordan
- Japan
- Kyrgyz Republic
- Korea Republic
- Saudi Arabia
- Kuwait
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Palestine
- Korea DPR
- Qatar
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Syria
- Thailand
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Timor-Leste
- Chinese Taipei
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Yemen
No team will be present from the European fifa area. The other zones will send one country to fight for the tickets to the World Cup.
Matches Round 1 of the preliminary joint qualification
22 countries will have a head to head match. All the 11 winners will move forward to the next round.
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 1 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 2 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 3 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 4 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 5 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 6 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 7 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 8 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 9 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
0-0 |
Read also: World cup group stage tiebreakers: Memorable Moments?
First round returns
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 13 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 14 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 15 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 16 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 17 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 18 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 19 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 20 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 21 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 22 |
|
0-0 |
Joint Qualification Round 2 for Groups
The 11 winners from the previous round in addition to the 25 AFC countries in the fifa ranking which is equal to 36 teams. As in the World Cup qualifying groups there are 18 numbers and by this the team move forward on to the next round.
Group A
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match A9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP A |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group B
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match B9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP B |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group C
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match C9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP C |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group D
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match D9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP D |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group E
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match E9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP E |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group F
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match F9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP F |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group G
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match G9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP G |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group H
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match H9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP H |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group I
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I3 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I4 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I5 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I6 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I7 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I8 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match I9 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 10 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 11 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 12 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP I |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
4 |
Team 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
AFC Asian Playoffs groups
Entries of world cup 2026 qualifying groups are in 6 numbers three and four of the playoffs. Both numbers from each group move forward for the fifa World Cup 2026. The teams will play a play-off match from each group with both the numbers.
Group 1
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 1-1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 1-2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 1-3 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP 1 |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
Group 2
|
DATE |
TIME |
MATCH |
WHERE |
RESULT |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 2-1 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 2-2 |
|
0-0 |
|
00-00-’00 |
00:00 |
Match 2-3 |
|
0-0 |
Standings
|
# |
GROUP 2 |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PTS |
GD |
|
1 |
Team 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
2 |
Team 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
|
3 |
Team 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
FIFA World Cup qualification for the AFC | Format
In the AFC as mentioned earlier 46 countries fight to win 8 to 9 World Cup tickets by qualifying a few rounds and matches against the 46 countries. The event will occur in 4 rounds. Only 8 countries will move forward. Then they will have matches more like an worldwide playoffs.
Joint Qualification Round 1 Preliminary
The 22 countries out of 46 of the AFC football that have the low ranking on fifa will have their first qualifying round. A single draw will have 11 mutual matches. Every team plays one away game and a home game.
Joint Qualification Round 2 Preliminary
Round 2 consists of 11 winners with addition to the 25 teams in total 36 teams will compete against each other. They all will be divided into 9 groups. Each country will play 6 games, one away game and one home game. From each group top 2 teams will move forward in the World Cup 2026 qualifying groups.
Round 3 of the AFC Asian Qualifiers
With the end of round 2, 18 countries will be further divided into 3 groups of 6 teams. In that every team will play 10 games one away and one home. The team which finishes in third and 4th position will go straight to playoffs.
Round 4 of the AFC Asian Playoffs
In round 4 , 6 numbers of 3 and 4 will play 2 matches on a neutral ground. It means that each team will play 2 matches. They already qualified round 3 hence in this round they will have to do a playoff, whichever team wins it will move forward with the intercontinental playoffs. That means world cup 2026 qualifying groups europe.
AFC 2026 World Cup Road and AFC Asian Cup qualifications together
With the qualification for AFC World Cup 2026, the World Cup selection 2027 AFC is also taken into consideration. The ten losers from the first round will play , playoffs. The winner will move forward. Later , all the 24 countries are categorised into 6 groups of 4, for the qualification of 2027 AFC World Cup.
FAQs
How are teams placed into FIFA AFC World Cup qualifying groups?
Teams are drawn into qualifying groups through a random draw organised by the AFC. This draw aims to distribute teams evenly based on their FIFA rankings.
How many AFC World Cup 2026 qualifying groups are there?
The number of AFC World Cup qualifying groups can vary depending upon the rounds. There are several groups.
How many teams qualify from each AFC World Cup 2026 qualifying groups?
The number of teams that qualify from each group can also vary. The top teams from each group usually qualify for the next stage of the qualification.
How does the FIFA AFC World Cup qualification process work?
The qualification process often involves multiple rounds, including group stages and knockout rounds. Teams compete within their groups, and top-performing teams advance to next rounds.
Which countries are traditionally strong in AFC World Cup qualifying?
Teams like Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Australia have historically been strong contenders in AFC World Cup qualifying.
Also read: Where will the FIFA Women's World Cup be held in 2027
