All FIFA-affiliated nations entered the joint qualification process for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup; Northern Mariana Islands, who is not a FIFA member, would have entered through the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off round.[2] However, the AFC excluded Northern Mariana Islands from the draw for the play-off round.[3]
Format
The qualification format was announced on 1 August 2022, having been revamped to fit the increased finals allocation of eight direct qualifiers and one play-off qualifier:[4][5]
Second round: 36 teams (ranked 1–26 and ten first-round winners) were divided into nine groups of four teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The nine group winners and group runners-up advanced to the third round and automatically qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The remaining teams qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round.
Third round: 18 teams which advanced from the second round were divided into three groups of six teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top two teams of each group qualified directly for the FIFA World Cup, the third- and fourth-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.
Fourth round: Six third- and fourth-placed teams from the third round are divided into two groups of three teams each. The teams will play against each other once in a centralized venue. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup, and the runners-up of each group advance to the fifth round.
Fifth round: The group runners-up in the fourth round will compete home-and-away over two legs to determine the Asian representation at the inter-confederation play-offs.[2]
Draw
The draw for the first and second rounds of joint qualification took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 July 2023.[5][6] The top 26 ranked teams were given byes to the second round, while the 20 teams entering the first round were seeded into two pots of 10 teams each and drawn alternately from pot 1 then pot 2 to form a pairing. The team from pot 1 hosted the first leg and the team from pot 2 hosted the second leg. Pots 1, 2 and 3 for the second round draw contained the teams ranked 1–9, 10–18, and 19–26, respectively, while pot 4 contained placeholders for the ten first round ties. Nine teams were drawn from pot 4 first and placed in position 4 of each group. The tenth team from pot 4 was moved to Pot 3, and subsequently drawn at random from Pot 3. Teams were then drawn into each group sequentially from pots 3, 2, and 1.[5]
First match(es) will be played: 8 October 2025. Source: AFC Rules for classification: Tiebreakers (H) Hosts
Fifth round
The two second-placed teams from the fourth round will play against each other over two legs in November 2025 to determine which team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.[2]
The fifth-round winner will join one team each from CAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[11]
Qualified teams
Qualified for the World Cup
Can qualify for the World Cup
Failed to qualify
Not an AFC member
The following teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.
1 2 Australia qualified as a member of the OFC in 1974 and 2006 (qualifying took place until 2005, and they left the OFC for the AFC in 2006).
Top goalscorers
There have been 613 goals scored in 217 matches, for an average of 2.82 goals per match (as of 10 June 2025). Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.
In the Bahrain vs Japan match, the Bahrain Football Association was fined $4,400 for fan misconduct during Japan's 5–0 win over Bahrain, which included the use of laser pointers and whistles to distract players, as well as Bahraini fans being heard mocking the Japanese national team's anthem.[12]
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Almoez Ali (12 goals)
