2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round
Tournament details
Dates16 November 2023 – 11 June 2024
Teams36 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played36
Goals scored124 (3.44 per match)
Attendance634,802 (17,633 per match)
Top scorer(s)Japan Ayase Ueda
Qatar Almoez Ali
(5 goals each)
← 2022
2030 →
All statistics correct as of 21 November 2023.

The second round of 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualification, which also serves as the second round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, began on 16 November 2023 and will be completed on 11 June 2024.[1][2]

Format

A total of 36 teams were drawn into 9 groups of 4 to play home-and-away round-robin matches. They included the 26 teams which received byes to this round, and the 10 winners from the first round.[3]

The winners and runners-up of each group will advance to the third round and qualify for 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The third and fourth place teams will advance to the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualification.[4]

Seeding

The draw for the second round was held on 27 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[5]

The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2023 (shown in parentheses below). The identities of the first round winners were not known at the time of the draw.

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the third round.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  1.  Japan (20)
  2.  Iran (22)
  3.  Australia (27)
  4.  South Korea (28)
  5.  Saudi Arabia (54)[note 1]
  6.  Qatar (59)
  7.  Iraq (70)
  8.  United Arab Emirates (72)
  9.  Oman (73)
  1.  Uzbekistan (74)
  2.  China (80)
  3.  Jordan (82)
  4.  Bahrain (86)
  5.  Syria (94)
  6.  Vietnam (95)
  7.  Palestine (96)
  8.  Kyrgyzstan (97)
  9.  India (99)
  1.  Lebanon (100)
  2.  Tajikistan (110)
  3.  Thailand (113)
  4.  North Korea (115)
  5.  Philippines (135)
  6.  Malaysia (136)
  7.  Kuwait (137)
  8.  Turkmenistan (138)
  1.  Hong Kong (149)†
  2.  Indonesia (150)†
  3.  Chinese Taipei (153)†
  4.  Yemen (156)†‡
  5.  Afghanistan (157)†
  6.  Singapore (158)†
  7.  Myanmar (160)†
  8.    Nepal (175)†
  9.  Bangladesh (189)†
  10.  Pakistan (201)†

† Teams whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.
‡ Team moved to Pot 3 after the other Pot 4 teams had been drawn into groups. Subsequently drawn at random from Pot 3.

Schedule

The schedule is expected to be as follows, according to the FIFA International Match Calendar.[1]

Matchday Date(s)
Matchday 1 16 November 2023
Matchday 2 21 November 2023
Matchday 3 21 March 2024
Matchday 4 26 March 2024
Matchday 5 6 June 2024
Matchday 6 11 June 2024

Groups

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Qatar Kuwait India Afghanistan
1  Qatar 2 2 0 0 11 1 +10 6 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 21 Mar 11 Jun 8–1
2  Kuwait 2 1 0 1 4 1 +3 3 26 Mar — 0–1 11 Jun
3  India 2 1 0 1 1 3 −2 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 6 Jun — 26 Mar
4  Afghanistan 2 0 0 2 1 12 −11 0 6 Jun 0–4 21 Mar —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Qatar 8–1 Afghanistan
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 19,374
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Kuwait 0–1 India
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 32,786
Afghanistan 0–4 Kuwait
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 330
Referee: Ahmed Faisal Al-Ali (Jordan)
India 0–3 Qatar
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 11,389
Afghanistan v India
Report
Qatar v Kuwait
Report
India v Afghanistan
Report
Kuwait v Qatar
Report
Afghanistan v Qatar
Report
India v Kuwait
Report
Qatar v India
Report

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Japan North Korea Syria Myanmar
1  Japan 2 2 0 0 10 0 +10 6 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 21 Mar 11 Jun 5–0
2  North Korea 2 1 0 1 6 2 +4 3 26 Mar — 6 Jun 11 Jun
3  Syria 2 1 0 1 1 5 −4 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–5 1–0 — 26 Mar
4  Myanmar 2 0 0 2 1 11 −10 0 6 Jun 1–6 21 Mar —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Japan 5–0 Myanmar
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 34,484
Syria 1–0 North Korea
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 4,285
Myanmar 1–6 North Korea
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,500
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Syria 0–5 Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,130
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Myanmar v Syria
Report
Japan v North Korea
Report
Syria v Myanmar
Report
North Korea v Japan
Report
Myanmar v Japan
Report
North Korea v Syria
Report
Japan v Syria
Report
North Korea v Myanmar
Report

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification South Korea Thailand China Singapore
1  South Korea 2 2 0 0 8 0 +8 6 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 21 Mar 11 Jun 5–0
2  Thailand 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3 26 Mar — 1–2 11 Jun
3  China 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 6 Jun — 26 Mar
4  Singapore 2 0 0 2 1 8 −7 0 6 Jun 1–3 21 Mar —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
South Korea 5–0 Singapore
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 64,381
Referee: Bijan Heydari (Iran)
Thailand 1–2 China
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 35,009
Referee: Salman Falahi (Qatar)
Singapore 1–3 Thailand
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 29,644
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)
China 0–3 South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 39,969
South Korea v Thailand
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Singapore v China
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
China v Singapore
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
China v Thailand
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
South Korea v China
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Malaysia Oman Kyrgyzstan Chinese Taipei
1  Malaysia 2 2 0 0 5 3 +2 6 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 26 Mar 4–3 11 Jun
2  Oman 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2 3 21 Mar — 11 Jun 3–0
3  Kyrgyzstan 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round 6 Jun 1–0 — 26 Mar
4  Chinese Taipei 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0 0–1 6 Jun 21 Mar —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Oman 3–0 Chinese Taipei
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 4,155
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)
Malaysia 4–3 Kyrgyzstan
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 17,142
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)
Chinese Taipei 0–1 Malaysia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,521
Kyrgyzstan 1–0 Oman
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 10,783
Referee: Mooud Bonyadifard (Iran)
Chinese Taipei v Kyrgyzstan
Report
Oman v Malaysia
Report
Kyrgyzstan v Chinese Taipei
Report
Malaysia v Oman
Report
Chinese Taipei v Oman
Report
Kyrgyzstan v Malaysia
Report
Oman v Kyrgyzstan
Report

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iran Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Hong Kong
1  Iran 2 1 1 0 6 2 +4 4 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 21 Mar 4–0
2  Uzbekistan 2 1 1 0 5 3 +2 4 2–2 — 6 Jun 26 Mar
3  Turkmenistan 2 0 1 1 3 5 −2 1 Asian Cup qualifying third round 26 Mar 1–3 — 11 Jun
4  Hong Kong 2 0 1 1 2 6 −4 1 6 Jun 21 Mar 2–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Iran 4–0 Hong Kong
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,191
Turkmenistan 1–3 Uzbekistan
  • Durdyýew 44'
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 19,500
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
Hong Kong 2–2 Turkmenistan
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,601
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Uzbekistan 2–2 Iran
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 32,551
Hong Kong v Uzbekistan
Report
Iran v Turkmenistan
Report
Uzbekistan v Hong Kong
Report
Turkmenistan v Iran
Report
Hong Kong v Iran
Report
Uzbekistan v Turkmenistan
Report
Iran v Uzbekistan
Report
Turkmenistan v Hong Kong
Report

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iraq Vietnam Philippines Indonesia
1  Iraq 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5 6 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 21 Mar 5–1
2  Vietnam 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1 3 0–1 — 6 Jun 26 Mar
3  Philippines 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1 Asian Cup qualifying third round 26 Mar 0–2 — 1–1
4  Indonesia 2 0 1 1 2 6 −4 1 6 Jun 21 Mar 11 Jun —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Iraq 5–1 Indonesia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 64,447
Referee: Ahmed Eisa (United Arab Emirates)
Philippines 0–2 Vietnam
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 10,378
Referee: Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan)
Philippines 1–1 Indonesia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,880
Vietnam 0–1 Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 20,568
Referee: Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar)
Indonesia v Vietnam
Report
Iraq v Philippines
Report
Vietnam v Indonesia
Report
Philippines v Iraq
Report
Indonesia v Iraq
Report
Vietnam v Philippines
Report
Iraq v Vietnam
Report
Indonesia v Philippines
Report

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Saudi Arabia Tajikistan Jordan Pakistan
1  Saudi Arabia[a] 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 6 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 21 Mar 11 Jun 4–0
2  Tajikistan 2 1 1 0 7 2 +5 4 26 Mar — 1–1 11 Jun
3  Jordan 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–2 6 Jun — 26 Mar
4  Pakistan 2 0 0 2 1 10 −9 0 6 Jun 1–6 21 Mar —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ Saudi Arabia has already qualified for the Asian Cup as the host nation.
Saudi Arabia 4–0 Pakistan
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 11,150
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)
Tajikistan 1–1 Jordan
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 13,650
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)
Pakistan 1–6 Tajikistan
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 18,316
Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)
Jordan 0–2 Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 13,845
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Pakistan v Jordan
Report
Saudi Arabia v Tajikistan
Report
Jordan v Pakistan
Report
Tajikistan v Saudi Arabia
Report
Pakistan v Saudi Arabia
Report
Jordan v Tajikistan
Report
Saudi Arabia v Jordan
Report
Tajikistan v Pakistan
Report

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification United Arab Emirates Bahrain Yemen Nepal
1  United Arab Emirates 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 6 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 11 Jun 21 Mar 4–0
2  Bahrain 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3[a] 0–2 — 6 Jun 26 Mar
3  Yemen 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3[a] Asian Cup qualifying third round 26 Mar 0–2 — 11 Jun
4    Nepal 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 0 6 Jun 21 Mar 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Bahrain 3, Yemen 0.
United Arab Emirates 4–0   Nepal
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 3,640
Yemen 0–2 Bahrain
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 1,291
Nepal   0–2 Yemen
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 13,735
Referee: Shen Yinhao (China)
Bahrain 0–2 United Arab Emirates
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 18,267
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
Nepal   v Bahrain
Report
United Arab Emirates v Yemen
Report
Bahrain v   Nepal
Report
Yemen v United Arab Emirates
Report
Nepal   v United Arab Emirates
Report
Bahrain v Yemen
Report
United Arab Emirates v Bahrain
Report
Yemen v   Nepal
Report

Group I

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Australia Lebanon State of Palestine Bangladesh
1  Australia 2 2 0 0 8 0 +8 6 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 21 Mar 11 Jun 7–0
2  Lebanon 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2 26 Mar — 0–0 11 Jun
3  Palestine 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 1 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–1 6 Jun — 26 Mar
4  Bangladesh 2 0 1 1 1 8 −7 1 6 Jun 1–1 21 Mar —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Australia 7–0 Bangladesh
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 20,876
Referee: Ahrol Risqullaev (Uzbekistan)
Lebanon 0–0 Palestine
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 200
Bangladesh 1–1 Lebanon
 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,297
Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)
Palestine 0–1 Australia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 14,537
Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)
Bangladesh v Palestine
Report
Australia v Lebanon
Report
Palestine v Bangladesh
Report
Lebanon v Australia
Report
Bangladesh v Australia
Report
Palestine v Lebanon
Report
Australia v Palestine
Report
Lebanon v Bangladesh
Report

Goalscorers

There have been 124 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 3.44 goals per match (as of 21 November 2023).

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes

  1. ^ Saudi Arabia has already qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup as tournament hosts and are competing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
  2. ^ a b c Afghanistan will play their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Afghan conflict.
  3. ^ AFC listed the kick-off time at 19:02 due to an unknown reason.
  4. ^ a b The hosting duties for the matches between North Korea and Syria were swapped on 31 October 2023. While no official explanation has been provided, the swap in the June 2024 matches eliminates the need for both teams to traverse the entire continent between their final two matches.
  5. ^ a b c Syria will play their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Syrian civil war.
  6. ^ a b Indonesia and Philippines will swap their fixtures, due to Indonesia hosting the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The change was confirmed on 31 October 2023 by FIFA.[8]
  7. ^ a b c Yemen will play their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Yemeni civil war.
  8. ^ a b c Lebanon will play their home matches at a neutral venue until further notice, due to the adjacent Israel–Hamas war.[9]
  9. ^ a b c Palestine will play their home matches at a neutral venue until further notice, due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2023 - Jul 2024)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  2. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2024 - Jul 2025)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Seedings revealed for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Asia's pathway to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 confirmed". AFC. 1 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Stage set for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 5 July 2023.
  6. ^ "2023 FIFA Refereeing International Lists" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  7. ^ "ホームゲーム会場が国立競技場に決定　なでしこジャパン（日本女子代表） 対 朝鮮民主主義人民共和国女子代表 および SAMURAI BLUE（日本代表） 対 朝鮮民主主義人民共和国代表" (in Japanese). Japan Football Association. 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Kualifikasi Piala Dunia 2026, Timnas Away ke Irak dan Filipina".
  9. ^ "Lebanon have chosen the Khalid Bin Mohamed Stadium in Sharja". Twitter. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Palestine have chosen Kuwait as the venue of their "home" World Cup qualifier against Australia on November 21". Twitter. Retrieved 25 October 2023.