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September 5, 2024

AFC World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Teams, Format, & Schedule

AFC World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Teams, Format, & Schedule

The AFC World Cup 2026 qualifiers will begin on Thursday, 5th September, as 18 teams battle for the eight qualification spots. 

The final stage of qualification will reach its climax in June 2025, but several teams will be able to cement their spots in the North American edition of the World Cup much earlier.

The AFC Asian Qualifiers determine which Asian teams will participate in the mighty FIFA World Cup. 

World Cup 2026 AFC Qualifiers format

The qualification process is divided into several rounds, with lower-ranked teams starting in earlier stages and the higher-ranked teams entering in later rounds.

The final round of qualification typically consists of two groups of six teams, with the top teams directly qualifying for the World Cup, and the second-placed sides will face each other in a playoff for a spot in the intercontinental playoffs for the remaining World Cup berths.

For efficiency, the early stages of the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup are often combined. Teams first play in these joint qualifiers, with the top teams advancing to both the later stages of World Cup qualification and earning a spot in the Asian Cup.

Following the second round of preliminary knockout matches, the group stages of the AFC qualifiers have now been formed by the 18 remaining teams from the region.

The 18 remaining Asian teams have been divided into three groups of six, who will face each other home and away. The top two teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup.

AFC World Cup 2026 Qualifiers teams 

18 teams will take part in the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers. 

Here’s an overview of all the teams and groups:

Group A:

Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyz Republic, DPR Korea

Group B:

South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Kuwait

Group C:

Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia

World Cup 2026 AFC Qualifiers schedule

Following is the AFC World Cup 2026 qualifiers third round schedule: 

Matchday 1: 

DATE

MATCH

TIME (PST)

5 Sep

Uzbekistan vs DPR Korea 

6:05 PM

5 Sep

Qatar vs United Arab Emirates

8:05 PM

5 Sep

Islamic Republic of Iran vs Kyrgyz Republic

7:10 PM

5 Sep

Korea Republic vs Palestine

3:05 PM

5 Sep

Iraq vs Oman

8:05 PM

5 Sep

Jordan vs Kuwait

10:05 PM

5 Sep

Australia vs Bahrain

2:15 PM

5 Sep

Japan vs China PR

2:40 PM

5 Sep

Saudi Arabia vs Indonesia

10:05 PM

Matchday 2: 

DATE

MATCH

TIME (PST)

10 Sep

DPR Korea vs Qatar

4:05 PM

10 Sep

Kyrgyz Republic vs Uzbekistan

6:05 PM

10 Sep

United Arab Emirates vs Islamic Republic of Iran

8:05 PM

10 Sep

Palestine vs Jordan

TBC

10 Sep

Oman vs Korea Republic

6:05 PM

10 Sep

Kuwait vs Iraq

10:05 PM

10 Sep

Indonesia vs Australia

3:10 PM

10 Sep

China PR vs Saudi Arabia

4:05 PM

10 Sep

Bahrain vs Japan

8:05 PM