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

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 qualifiers set to get underway soon, 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.

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 World Cup qualifying fixtures

The AFC qualifying process will get underway on 12 October 2023 with first round fixtures taking place. The teams ranked 27-46 in Asia face each other over two legs with all games being played on October 12 and 17.

You can also see each team's FIFA ranking in Asia in brackets for an idea of the favourites for each tie.

AFC World Cup qualification groups

The groups for the second round of AFC World Cup qualifying - the stage where the majority of Asia's entrants will be decided - are yet to be finalised as the above fixtures are still to be played.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Group I