At 3:00 p.m. today, AFC will draw the groups for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, as well as the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, including Vietnam.
Coach Troussier directs Vietnamese players to practice at SEA Games 32, in May 2023 in Cambodia. Photo: Lam Thoa
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At the 2026 World Cup, FIFA increased the number of teams participating in the finals to 48 teams, of which Asia has 8.5 slots. Therefore, AFC has also made some changes to the qualifying format. Accordingly, the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers will consist of four rounds, of which the first two rounds are also the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Round 1 includes the 20 lowest-ranked teams out of 46 teams in Asia based on the FIFA rankings of July 2023. The 20 teams are divided into 10 pairs, playing one home match and one away match on October 12 and 17, 2023, respectively. The 10 winning teams in Round 1 will advance to Round 2.
AFC conducted the first round draw at 1pm today and determined 10 pairs, including: Afghanistan - Mongolia, Maldives - Bangladesh, Singapore - Guam, Yemen - Sri Lanka, Myanmar - Macau, Cambodia - Pakistan, Chinese Taipei - Timor Leste, Indonesia - Brunei, Hong Kong - Bhutan and Nepal - Laos.
Results of the draw for the first round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia. Photo: Asean Football
Round 2 includes 36 teams, including the top 26 teams in Asia according to the FIFA rankings in July 2023 and 10 winning teams in round 1. Vietnam is ranked 15th in Asia so it will start participating from this round.
The 36 teams will be divided into nine groups of four teams each, playing a double round-robin (home and away) from November 2023 to June 2024, with points awarded for ranking. The first and second-placed teams in each group will advance to the third round (a total of 18 teams), and will also qualify directly for the 2027 Asian Cup Finals. The remaining 18 teams will advance directly to the third qualifying round (also the final qualifying round) of the 2027 Asian Cup.
Top 15 Asian teams, according to FIFA rankings in July 2023.
The draw for the third round of the 2026 World Cup - Asia will be held in 2024. The 18 winners of the second round will be divided into three groups of six teams each, playing home and away in a round-robin format. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, while the third and fourth-placed teams (a total of six teams) will advance to the fourth round, also known as the Asian play-offs.
The six teams in the Asian play-offs are divided into two groups of three teams each, which will play each other in a round-robin format at the venue. The top two teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the second-placed teams from both groups will play a home-and-away knockout match to determine who will advance to the intercontinental play-off.
Quang Huy
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