The 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia are about to return

At the end of qualifying round 2, the 18 teams with the best records won tickets to continue. They are divided into 3 groups. Group A includes: Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, UAE, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea. Group B includes the participation of South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait. Meanwhile, Group C is considered as the death table with the participation of Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, China, Bahrain and Indonesia .

Qualifying round 3 of the 2026 World Cup in Asia will take place from September 5, 2024 to June 10, 2025. Accordingly, the two leading teams each will win tickets directly to the 2026 World Cup - the tournament will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico. The teams ranked 3rd and 4th in each group will win tickets to the 4th qualifying round.

Of the 18 Asian teams in the third qualifying round, the Korean team is the team that has attended the most World Cup with 11 participation. Behind them are Japan (7 times), Australia, Iran and Saudi Arabia (6 times).

Australia and Japan will face each other for the fifth consecutive time in the World Cup qualifiers. Expanded, these two teams along with Saudi Arabia are in the same qualifying group for the third time in a row. In the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the kangaroo team ranked behind Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Indonesia is the only team in Southeast Asia to qualify for the third round. Shin Tae-yong's team ranked second in the group with Iraq, Vietnam and the Philippines. Although not appreciated, Indonesia is determined to show their best to the strongest teams in the continent.

In Vietnam, matches in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia will be broadcast on K+.