The AFC third round of Asian 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification teams for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will start from 5 September 2024 to 10 June 2025. The process will involve 9 group winners and nine group runners-up from the 2nd round of AFC qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The qualifying competition was divided into three groups of six teams—the FIFA World Cup tournament: preliminary round, Qualifying group stage, and Play-offs round.
The 46 FIFA-affiliated nations football teams from Asia entered the qualification round. The matches in the third round will start on 5 September. Here we are sharing the list of the qualification teams & the Schedule of matches.
All the qualified teams were divided into three groups per their FIFA rank for the AFC Third Round.
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Third Round
Table of Contents
The 18 teams were divided into three groups, with eight confirmed berths and a possible additional spot via a playoff available for Asia at the FIFA World Cup 2026 to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Schedule
| Matchday | Date |
|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | 5 September 2024 |
| Matchday 2 | 10 September 2024 |
| Matchday 3 | 10 October 2024 |
| Matchday 4 | 15 October 2024 |
| Matchday 5 | 14–15 November 2024 |
| Matchday 6 | 19 November 2024 |
| Matchday 7 | 20 March 2025 |
| Matchday 8 | 25 March 2025 |
| Matchday 9 | 5 June 2025 |
| Matchday 10 | 10 June 2025 |
Qualified teams
| Australia Bahrain China Indonesia Iran Iraq | Japan Jordan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan North Korea Oman | Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia South Korea United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan |
AFC Third Round Groups of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 16 |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 13 |
| 3 | UAE | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 10 |
| 4 | Qatar | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 17 | −7 | 7 |
| 5 | Kyrgyzstan | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 3 |
| 6 | North Korea | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 2 |
Group B
| Pos | Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | ||
| 2 | Jordan | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 7 |
| 3 | Iraq | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 7 |
| 4 | Oman | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 3 |
| 5 | Kuwait | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 |
| 6 | Palestine | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 2 |
Group C
| 1 | Japan | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | +14 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Australia | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 5 |
| 4 | Bahrain | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 5 |
| 5 | Indonesia | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 |
| 6 | China | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 3 |
